BloodRayne Chronicles of Blood: The Antebellum Thirties
by The History Queen
Summary: A direct sequel to my first story, BloodRayne Chronicles of Blood: Origins. This story will detail the events that occurred in the first game. Why she was chasing those vampires, her joining Brimstone, her first mission to Louisiana and the five year gap that was never elaborated on and maybe the last two missions BloodRayne. This is going to be a long one! I hope you all enjoy...
1. Recap

_**The story so far**_

_**(1916 – 1933)**_

_Seventeen years before the start our tale, an unusual yet remarkable baby girl was born to a nineteen year old Irish-American woman named Eliza Rebecca McDougal in a New York City hospital. The child, named Rayne Amelia McDougal, otherwise known as Rayne, was a dhampir, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid. She was the result of her mother's rape by her vampire father Kagan, an event her mother tried to put behind her as she tried to raise her daughter. However this was not to be. Shortly after her tenth birthday, Kagan marked his debut into Rayne's life by having her family massacred and forcing his child to drink her mother's blood._

_ This act would ensure that Rayne's vampire powers would awaken. The event scarred Rayne and she develops a passionate hatred for her father and all vampires. Three years later, she kills her first vampire and then goes after the ones who created him. Her second victim is Clayton Gordon, a vampire who masqueraded as the son of Patricia Gordon, a wealthy philanthropist and owner of a soup kitchen in New York City. Behind closed doors however, Clayton was a sadistic, pedophile and monster who preyed on the young waifs of the city._

_ Needless to say he got what he deserved by Rayne's hands. _

_ After escaping a fiery death caused by Patricia, Rayne follows the woman across the Atlantic to England. Upon landing, Rayne is exposed to opium whilst hiding in a crate on a Bournemouth wharf and subsequently goes through the symptoms caused by the drug and she is arrested and put in jail for attacking a couple when she began to suffer from withdrawal. Things get better for her however, when she is saved by Nadya, the Romani maid of Professor Trumain. At Trumain Manor, Rayne meets her half-siblings who were adopted or rescued by the Professor._

_ Gabriel and Gabriella, Hashim, Holly and Mathias. _

_ Rayne eventually re-encounters Patricia in a London Street one February day, and she kills her in a burning theater the following night. Besides Patricia, another monster from Rayne's past reemerges, Ophelia Rosales, the female vampire that helped Kagan murder Rayne's family. Rayne goes to rural Aragon, Spain to confront her foe and there she encounters the Guerra family, triplet siblings who bullied the village there and were also werewolves. Rayne slaughters them one by one and she eventually gets her long awaited confrontation with Ophelia. Seven years of pent up rage is unleashed upon the vampire that night and is climaxed when Rayne brutally blinded Ophelia. _

_ Despite the handicap, Ophelia continued to fight but it was all in vain and she was killed by Rayne in her family castle's chapel just as dawn was approaching. With her dead, Rayne set her eyes on her father but, her actions have caught the interest of the Brimstone Society. This top-secret fraternity of monster slayers and order preservers believe that Rayne will be an invaluable asset to their group. But first, she must prove her worth to their leader._

_Dark Man… _

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**And so begins our tale...  
**


	2. Chapter 1: A Meeting with Brimstone

**Author's Note: Profanity and gory description ahead.**

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**Arc 1: Initiation**

_**Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia**_

_**March 20, 1933**_

A late night rainfall wrapped the old city in an air of moist cold. Small streams traversed through cobblestones while condensation and beads of water clung to the metal and glass of a parked car in the street. The only warmth in this cold, wet night were the lights coming from some windows and streetlamps. Maybe a parent was reading a bedtime story to their child or were saying their evening prayers before bed. The lights also illuminated crosses that were rested by or hung on the windows.

They were not only a symbol of the occupant's faith but also a protective measure against what went bump in the night in this quarter of the city. As the iron street lamps lit the pavement, two figures dressed in reddish purple robes silently observed from the rooftops.

"Tell me again… What are we doing here in a vampire ghetto after sunset?" the figure to the right said, breaking the silence.

"Be patient, wait, watch…"

And true to his word, footsteps began to echo across the area and soon two figures came running down the street in full tilt. A man and a woman, both dressed in thick coats and holding hands, came bounding down the street. They had been running for some time as their breaths were quite labored. The blue-coated woman slipped on a slick cobblestone and she fell down, her running partner came to her.

"Come on!" he begged her as he helped her to her feet. Just as she got up to eye level, a rope shot out of the darkness and the noose tightened around the man's throat. Something tugged him into the dark trash strewn alleyway screaming as his partner watched on horror.

"This is the one we have been watching…" the man continued.

A moist cutting sound put the man's screams to an abrupt end and all was quiet again. Confused and terrified, the woman made one tiny step towards the alley when a round object was thrown at her feet and it landed with a sharp thump.

It was her partner's freshly severed head.

The woman stepped back and gasped in shock with her hand over her mouth. She looked up when she heard footsteps coming closer from the darkness. A pale form of a scantily clad and unearthly woman appeared brandishing two blades, the left one bloodied, that were attached to her arms.

"No… no…" the woman said in increasing desperation.

The mysterious female assailant folded her arms in front of her chest and the blades retracted back to her forearms. She stared triumphantly at the woman with sinister emerald eyes.

It was Rayne…

The woman collapsed to her knees and began to weep profusely as Rayne got closer to her.

But what events had lead up to this scenario?

It had actually begun three days ago after Rayne had arrived back in England from America after she visited her family's gravestone in New York City. She was relaxing in her room when Holly, her younger half-sister came barging into her room. The energetic nine year old plopped herself down on Rayne's cozy covers and she began to expound an event she had just witnessed. Holly told Rayne that she had seen two men in suits talk to the Professor in the entrance foyer of the manor. The Professor had spoken quietly and seriously with these men and soon he lead them to down the hall to continue their secretive conversation elsewhere.

Just as Holly finished her story, Nadya, the one-armed Romani maid appeared.

"Miss Rayne, the Professor would like to see you in the drawing room downstairs."

Holly looked to Rayne with curiosity and concern but Rayne ignored it and she went towards her vanity and she took off a shimmering silk kimono robe that was laid over the chair. It was pink and embroidered with images of phoenixes made of gold, red, blue and yellow silk thread. It was gift for her fourteenth birthday and she wore it because it was midday outside and while her windows were draped, the ones outside in the long gallery hall were not and the light would singe her skin to a steaming crisp if she left her skin uncovered. Rayne went through the hall covering her head by pulling the collar of her robe over her hair. She could risk having her hands burn a little but not her head, she didn't want to be blinded in her eye or have red blotches on her cheeks for the Professor and his guests to see.

Holly wanted to follow her but Nadya laid her real right hand gently on her shoulder to prevent Holly from going. Rayne traversed down the three flights of steps until she reached the ground floor and she made her way swiftly to the drawing room. The drawing room was usually a dark room even when the windows were uncovered. It was an old room dating back to the Elizabethan Era and it was one of the few chambers in the Trumain Manor that escaped renovations through the following centuries. Its walls were paneled with dark mahogany that had the crest of the Trumain Family engraved into it along with the Tudor Rose above it to signify the Trumain's support of the Tudor's ages past, the walls themselves were painted in smoke stained burgundy, a marble fireplace that was embossed with faces in the upper corners for an unknown reason and it had a good fire pulsing inside of it. Its mantelpiece had an ornate golden clock and some trophies from shooting competitions and for good measure, a wine rack to the right of it and a liquor cabinet to the left.

The only "new" additions were the furniture and the gold chandelier but even those were old. Shiny, buttoned leather chairs, a simple and sturdy coffee table whose only occupant was an ashtray. The air was a little hazy with cigar smoke, which came from one of the suited men. When Rayne came in, the men inside stopped their conversation to look at her. The young man that was seated on the couch put out his cigar and he beckoned Rayne to sit next to him.

"Ah, you must be Rayne. Please have a seat."

The man had slicked back hair and his suit was crisp and well cared for. He reminded Rayne of Rudolph Valentino, an actor that she and her mother had adored together. The Professor was standing with the other and slightly older man with glasses and a graying goatee who had a glass filled with scotch whiskey. After she had settled, Professor Trumain put down the scotch bottle on a small table between the two couches.

"Thank you for coming Rayne, I know this is sudden, but… these men are from the Brimstone Society and they would like to tell you something. Something important…"

Trumain trailed off after he finished that sentence. The man with the scotch then spoke.

"Miss Rayne, I am afraid that my colleague and I cannot tell you our real names for reasons of confidentiality, so please call us whatever you like."

Rayne decided to have fun with this opportunity she was just given. Sensing what was coming, Trumain pursed his lips awkwardly.

"Okay… How about I call you Mr. Scotch and you Mr. Valentino?"

Mr. Scotch raised an eyebrow while Mr. Valentino was at a loss for words. After what felt like a full minute of awkward silence, Mr. Valentino finally spoke.

"Its all very well and good, but, why those names Miss?" he asked.

"Because sir, you look like Rudolph Valentino and you are Mr. Scotch because you are drinking, well, scotch."

Mr. Scotch took a swig of his drink and after seemingly analyzing the remnants of booze in his glass; he put it down, probably promising himself to never ask anyone to give him a nickname of their choice ever again. He became more serious after that.

"Now, Rayne. The reason why… Mr. Valentino and myself are here is because you have come to our interests that you are a budding vampire slayer. Your killing of Patricia Gordon, her lover Clayton and the *****Ricahembra Ophelia Rosales have somewhat struck a chord with a member of our society's upper echelons. Specter Lord…"

Rayne tried to stifle a giggle when she heard the name. Mr. Scotch glared at her with disapproval.

"That is just his moniker, not his real name. Anyway, he believes that you will benefit our society and our goals greatly if you were to join us."

Another veil of silence spread over the room and this time Rayne felt the quietness within herself as well. Joining the Brimstone Society? It was an incredible offer but Rayne still didn't know enough about them but since they dealt mostly with the business of monster slaying, what else did she need to know? She apparently had the talent for it. It was time for Mr. Valentino to speak now.

"Miss Rayne, you have everything that Brimstone needs in its agents. Skill, fortitude, determination and not to mention, a vampire and human heritage."

Rayne glared at him when he said that. She wasn't exactly proud about her origins but she did appreciate the benefits that came with it.

"Are there other dhampirs or vampires in Brimstone?" She asked coldly.

"Yes but not many. Our supreme leader Dark Man, and I mean no offense, has a history of bigotry towards vampires and anyone who shares kin with them. However, Specter Lord, our second in command, has organized a debut of sorts for you to prove yourself to Dark Man."

Rayne was now intrigued but Trumain on the other hand, looked away in shame. No doubt he was now regretting for having Rayne kill Ophelia. He felt awful for exploiting his adoptive daughter's abilities for his own emotional need for closure and revenge*****. And now she was being pulled even deeper into a world of mystery and myth. Trumain could only listen and watch as Brimstone tightened their grip on Rayne.

"What will I have to do for this debut?" Rayne asked quizzically.

Mr. Valentino opened a leather briefcase and he procured a manila envelope with a paper that had several photographs clipped to it. The faces of three individuals were circled in red pen. The faces were a little hard to see because they were taken at night from a distance and some height and the people were either by lit windows or doorways whose light was magnified by the flash of the camera. From what features she could glean from the photos, Rayne could see that there were two men; a huge one and an average sized one and a woman whose hair was tied back in a petite ponytail.

"These people here are Zdenka and Radovan Cheovic and their "handyman" Boris. They are vampires who have become targets for extermination by Brimstone for the mass murder of innocents in a Yugoslavian village that will upset the Respected Balance between mankind and the supernatural if knowledge gets out that there are vampires in our midst. And it has been decided that _you _will be the one to dispatch them. Rayne… will you kill them?"

Mr. Valentino's fingers were splayed like the legs of a spider over the document. Rayne felt lost.

"Rayne." Mr. Scotch spoke up. "This can truly be a relationship of mutual benefits. If you kill these vampires and by Dark Man's grace, join us. We can help you find your father, Kagan."

Rayne snapped her head up in response.

"What really?!" Rayne said excitedly.

"Now this is ridiculous!" Trumain shouted. His voice startled everyone in the room.

"You are goading her into saying yes. You are not even giving her the chance to truly think this out by her own accord!"

"And may I remind you, Trumain, that you have used a similar tactic involving her father when you had her kill the Ricahembra. Am I not correct?" Mr. Scotch retorted.

Trumain became red with embarrassment about his hypocrisy. Mr. Scotch was not yet finished.

"Specter Lord did tell us to remind you of that if you ever came to object to our offer to her."

He turned to Rayne.

"My dear, ever since your… awakening seven years ago, you have been plagued by recurrent cravings for blood am I correct?"

"Yes… I have been. But they have been under control thanks to the "teatimes" that the Professor has us partake in."

By teatime, Rayne meant a daily ritual that happened after every meal of the day at the manor. After they had finished eating their food, Nadya would bring in a teapot suspended in a tub of ice that was filled with blood and she would give it to Rayne and her Dhampir half-siblings in cups to help curb their natural cravings for blood.

"But ever since you _spilled_ blood. Have you felt the desire to continue doing so?" Mr. Scotch asked.

Come to think of it, he was right. Rayne had been feeling "empty" ever since she came back home. Her hands would grasp around the now invisible handles of *****Malebranche, her two arm blades and she kept reliving her battles and how glorious it felt to slash and cut her opponents into bloody ribbons, especially Ophelia. She loved reminiscing on how she blinded that Spanish bitch with just her thumbs and how she screamed…

It felt wonderful killing her.

After all, she helped Kagan murder Rayne's family that July night all those years ago, so she deserved every ounce of pain Rayne inflicted on her. And now she was being asked to do the same thing to these three vampires.

Rayne agreed to do the job.

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***= Ricahembra is an old Spanish aristocratic title. It is on par with the rank of Baron. The male equivalent is Ricohombre.**

***= Three years after Rayne's birth, Trumain's wife and daughter, Lenore and Isabella, were murdered by Kagan and Ophelia in revenge for a humiliating defeat he had suffered by Trumain's hands. Kagan brutally raped and murdered Lenore while Ophelia killed Isabella by sucking her blood.**

***= Named after the monsters that lurk in the eight circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri's "_Inferno_". It means "Evil Claw" in Italian.**

**So what do you guys think? I won't be able to do much because of school but it feels so good to finally publish this. Thank you and _please review! :) _**


	3. Chapter 2: The Hunt

**The background on how Rayne encountered those vampires seen in the game's opening cinematic. This maybe a little too wordy but I try to bring my environments to life with my words. Enjoy!**

**Author's Note: ****Blood, gore and foul language ahead. **

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_**Selo-Ovacarski**_

_**Somewhere in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia**_

Those were the first events that lead Rayne to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After the meeting was adjourned, Mr. Valentino gifted Rayne with a red and black pendant that had the Brimstone Society's symbol on it. It was a badge of her joining even though it wasn't official yet. She had to pack up and leave the next day, much to the chagrin of Holly. She was flown in by airplane and was subsequently brought into the village in a hay truck at dusk.

When she was confident that the Sun was now low enough in the horizon for her to come out, she burst out of the prickly hay. Thankfully, along with the setting Sun, the people of Selo Ovacarski had retired to their homes or to the local tavern for some beer and gossip. Rayne was in her red and black costume from her skirmishes in Spain, and she was happy to be in it again. It felt so liberating to have it on even in the cold March night air. And to top it all off, she had Malebranche on her arms once again.

Now it was time to get down to business. Turning on her Aura Sense, Rayne saw that the boarding house owned by the vampires Radovan and Zdenka Cheovic was just up ahead. She saw a flaring red image approaching the boarding house and Rayne turned off her Aura Sense to see who it was. It was a young woman who appeared to be five months pregnant carrying a suitcase and because she was colored red in the Aura Sense that meant she was completely unaware of Rayne's presence across the street. Rayne jumped to an adjacent building's roof to see what was going on at the boarding house.

Rayne observed as the woman knocked on the door and a man in his mid-thirties with dark brown hair answered. It was Radovan Cheovic and he smiled warmly at the woman and his grin grew wider when he saw that she was pregnant. Being a gentleman, the vampire led the unsuspecting woman into the house with some kind sounding words in his native language. Through the window, Rayne saw Radovan seat the woman at a candlelit table by a few other boarders. Even though the house was a two story tall plaster and tile structure that looked like it could hold a decent amount of boarders, the dinner table inside looked almost empty.

No doubt many travelers were avoiding the village due to the recent discoveries of blood-drained corpses in the forests and fields nearby that the Cheovic's were responsible for. Another person joined the group assembled for dinner. It was Zdenka Cheovic, Radovan's wife and fellow vampire. She was in a powder blue dress with a starched white apron and just like her photographs; she had her light brown hair tied in a tiny ponytail. She sat herself down with a tureen and from it she ladled out a serving of soup and she passed it over to her husband and he in turn gave the tureen over to the others after he had served himself.

Rayne decided to find another way in and she jumped over towards the boarding house roof. In the backyard, Rayne saw a giant of a man in peasant clothing emerge from around the shed with a lantern and a load of firewood on his back. It was Boris, the Cheovic's handyman and body disposer. After he had gone through the backdoor, Rayne vaulted over the gate of the simple stone and mortar fence that enclosed the yard so that she could be safely covered by the darkness of night. She analyzed the back of the house.

The windows on the upper story were dark. Rayne willed her legs to bend again and she landed on the metal roof of the shed with a rather loud bang. She froze, but thankfully nobody came out to investigate. Relieved, Rayne turned on her Aura Sense and she saw nobody in the rooms. She walked over to the edge of the roof and she skipped over and grabbed the left windowsill.

With one hand gripping the wood, Rayne used her free one to check to see if the window was unlocked, it was. She opened it and snuck in. Once in, Rayne observed her surroundings. Even in the darkness, she could tell that the room was rather austere. There was one closet, three beds, three trunks and one rug in the middle of the room and that was it. The room smelled of body odor, clean sheets, and blood…

Rayne was lead to one of the beds that smelled of both blood and cleanliness. Somebody had died there recently and the sheets were cleaned. Voices and footsteps echoed up towards the hall. The boarders were coming to turn in for the night after dinner. Rayne had to hide, quickly.

The door opened and a cheery conversation spoken in a foreign tongue came through along with the light of a candle. Even though Rayne had hidden under the blood scented bed, she could tell who come in. It was Zdenka and the pregnant woman. The chatter continued even as Zdenka knelt down to slide the woman's suitcase under the bed. She didn't look under and Rayne was relived as she moved her legs to make room for the suitcase.

After a bit, Zdenka said good night and the woman climbed into bed, blew out the candle and went to sleep in the same bed that had the scent of murder on it. Before her sheets were even warmed by her body, the door opened again. It was Zdenka and Radovan, but there was something different about them. Rayne sensed that their true selves had been revealed and that they were going to feed upon this woman.

"Mmm… a young woman. Its been awhile." Zdenka said in perfect, sinister accented English.

"And pregnant at that…" Radovan said.

They were speaking English now, probably so their barely conscious prey could not understand them. Rayne had learned from the two Brimstone representatives that the Cheovic's were vampires of Slavic origin and were close to 300 years old. They had traveled the Balkans for centuries, killing and feeding on anyone they came across and in the late nineteenth century, they immigrated to America to pursue wealth and safety, and also new feeding grounds, goals that were shared by the Old World vampires who followed their human counterparts to the Land of Opportunity. They settled in Pennsylvania, learned English and they stalked the countryside looking for victims. They even injured livestock to lure farmers out of their houses to kill them.

Apparently the *****hex signs that decorated their barns could not protect them from this evil. However, the murderous couple moved back to Eastern Europe after World War I was over so that they could take advantage of feeding off of the influx of war refugees. Even though the war had been over for fifteen years, the chaos remained and the Cheovic's stayed to reap its benefits. And now, they were going to kill again, but Rayne was going to see to to that.

"You take her wrist and I'll take her throat. You can have the child when she is drained." Radovan said.

That was Rayne's cue and she maneuvered herself in order to swing her right leg out to topple Radovan over. As her husband fell, Zdenka backed up in surprise and Rayne rolled out from under the bed and retracted her blades out into her hands. It was time to teach these bloodsuckers a lesson. The Cheovic's were quite different as vampires. They had greyish white skin with snow-white eyes and big fangs that looked like they could pierce the thickest skin and fat.

"Koj si ti! Što praviš tuka!?" (Macedonian for: Who are you! What are you doing here!?)

Rayne didn't understand what Zdenka just said but she didn't care, they were both going to die pretty soon anyways. After he recovered from being knocked off his feet, Radovan shouted in the same language his wife used.

"Boris! Stani tuka sega!" (Macedonian for: Get up here now!)

Quaking footsteps seemed to shake the floor and soon Boris burst through the door. He too looked just like the Cheovic's in his vampire form. Boris stared at Rayne unemotionally with pale eyes.

"Ubie nea!" Zdenka shouted. (Macedonian for: Kill her!)

Boris lunged at her with huge arms in an attempt to bear hug her but she dodged it. She took advantage of his slow speed to climb up his back, pull his head backwards and slit his thick throat all in one quick motion. However, during the chaos, Zdenka and Radovan escaped.

"Damn it!" she shouted and she ran after them, leaving Boris's corpse to drop with a loud thud. Despite all of the commotion, neither the pregnant woman nor any of the boarders were awakened. They were probably under the effect of some sedative that was stirred into their soup or drink. Rayne's Aura Sense showed her that Zdenka and Radovan were outside and that they were looking for a get-away vehicle. She ran outside just as Radovan started up a truck and drove off with the tires screeching.

Rayne put all her power into her legs and she gunned after the truck. Thankfully there weren't any other vehicles coming down the road. Rayne didn't know how many miles she was running; all she knew was that she had an incredible rhythm that she couldn't break. She followed them for _fifteen_ miles towards the capital city of Belgrade. On the outskirts of town, the truck broke down and the Cheovic's continued the rest of their escape on foot.

Rayne jumped from building to building to prevent herself from being seen. However, the couple managed to evade her and Rayne used her Aura Sense to track them down into an abandoned plaza. However as soon as she landed, a gunshot rang out and a bullet pierced her right calf muscle.

"Son of a bitch!" she shouted and she fell to her knees. As she gripped her wounded leg, policemen emerged from the shadows and they surrounded her. Those bastards had alerted the police. Malebranche was confiscated from her and she was handcuffed and brought to a police station. All eyes were upon Rayne as she was brought in.

Her outfit was nothing the crowd had ever seen before and it was certainly something they would frown upon since most of the Kingdom's populace was Roman Catholic. As she was being led to an interrogation room, she passed the Cheovic's who were making a statement. Zdenka turned to Rayne and gave her a smug leer.

"You cocky bitch. Just you wait…" Rayne said to herself.

After Rayne was seated, the Chief of Police came in. Almost immediately, he took notice of her exposed bosom and he raised a cheeky eyebrow. He put out his cigarette in an ashtray and he began to speak in his native language.

"I don't speak whatever the hell your saying." Rayne said.

"Oh. You speak English! And judging from your accent, you're an American aren't you?"

"Yeah but what's it to you?" She said dryly in response.

"Oh nothing at all. Though it could explain your… manner of dress."

"Really, how so?"

"Its just from what I have heard from my cousin, you American women are free to dress however you please." He said with an air of conservative disapproval.

"Apparently that hasn't stopped you from looking at my chest." Rayne said back. The chief was still for a second but then he changed his posture from relaxed to serious.

"Now tell me miss… Why were you chasing that couple? And where did you get that weapon from?"

Rayne's eyes looked about the room. It was a small square shaped chamber whose walls were cracked and stained and was lit by a single light bulb. A policeman stood by a radiator that warmed the whole room. She finally spoke.

"To make a long story short, that couple there that called you are vampires that are responsible for a lot of deaths in a farming village a few miles from here and I came here to kill them."

Rayne said it all in one breath. The chief blinked while his partner just stared in confusion. He clearly didn't understand English. The police chief then laughed. His laughter led to his fellow officer to ask what was so funny in his language. The chief calmed down a little to relay to him what Rayne had just said and he started to chuckle too. Rayne remained nonchalant as the two policemen had their laughing spell. After they had calmed down and the chief wiped his eyes he spoke.

"M-miss… Surely you are joking? There are no such things as vampires. That is peasant superstition. I thought you Americans were more educated than that."

Rayne just stared at him with unflinching eyes. She then opened her mouth and showed him her fangs. The chief was taken aback for a second.

"Those can't be real." He said. He turned to his friend.

"Adam, idi proveri zube." (Serbian for: Adam, go check her teeth.)

Adam did as he was told and he walked towards Rayne and he put his gloved fingers into her mouth and he gently pulled down on her gums, expecting a prosthetic to slip off. When nothing happened he tried her right fang but again nothing. He turned towards the chief stiff and wide eyed.

"Glavni... Ja ovo su stvarni..." (Serbian for: Chief… These are real…)

Before the police chief could respond, Rayne bit down on the man's finger hard enough for her to touch bone.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Adam shouted in pain.

The chief flinched but before he could do anything, Rayne kicked the table into his face and he fell over backwards with his chair, her leg was obviously feeling better after being shot. Rayne then let go of the officer and she pooled strength into her arms and she broke the handcuffs. She then knocked the screaming officer out cold with one punch. The police chief began to regain his bearings until Rayne pounced on the overturned table, crushing his diaphragm. She crouched down and got into his face, her emerald eyes shooting daggers into his.

"Where are my weapons at?" she said. The man just stared angrily at her. Rayne then stomped on the table to further the pressure. He let out a loud gasp.

"I-i-in the evidence room. That is all that I will… augh… tell you!"

"Fine by me. I can find it on my own." Rayne said.

She stepped off the table and she stomped on it one more time to knock him out. She heard the sound of approaching footsteps and soon the butte of a gun was being rammed against the window of the door. The door was locked to prevent anyone from investigating any screams that a detainee might make if they were being beaten for a confession. As the officers outside tried to make their way in, they didn't know that they were all in for a surprise. Before they could completely break the window, Rayne kicked down the door with just two kicks, knocking down a few officers and leaving the rest in shock. She then turned on her Blood Rage and she began whaling on them with her increased strength.

This attack occurred in two full minutes and not a single officer was left standing. As they laid there groaning and moaning, Rayne heard more policemen coming and shouting. She activated her Aura Sense and she ran towards it direction. She soon found the evidence room and as soon as she entered it, she locked the door and she barricaded it with a desk and chair. A pulsing pale blue light pinpointed Malebranche's location and Rayne gladly retrieved them.

After putting them back on, Rayne saw a green metal box that was by her swords labeled with the word "Eksplozivi!" in red. (Serbian for: Explosives!) Intrigued, Rayne opened the box and inside it were some grenades cushioned by straw.

"Hmmm…" Rayne purred with happiness as she took one of the grenades. She heard the sounds of the police coming down the hall looking for her. Rayne had to escape now. She looked around. There was an open window but it wasn't big enough for her to go through.

She then saw a large thin crack that extended down from the ceiling like a lightning bolt that almost reached the floor. Rayne's Aura Sense told her that this part of the wall was very weak. She didn't have room to back up for a jump, so she knocked down the huge shelves and they fell like dominoes. The sound of footsteps grew louder but Rayne had nothing to worry. She stepped backward over the mess and she jumped up and she ploughed her way through the wall, sending mortar and brick flying like shrapnel.

The cool air felt wonderful after being in that hot station. But now, Rayne had to return to the task at hand. She leapt onto a pile of stacked wooden pallets and she vaulted up onto the police station roof. She heard shouting coming from the evidence room along with the muffled voices of a gathered crowd. Rayne edged over towards the ledge and she saw them.

The Cheovic's were huddled together with the crowd, clearly nervous. The police had probably ushered everyone out for their own safety. Rayne leapt over the assembled crowd unseen and she landed near a fountain. She placed her hand to her mouth and said quietly, but sharply enough for her prey's vampire ears to hear.

"Hey, Cheovic's…"

The couple slowly turned around and when they saw her they froze. It was Rayne's turn to taunt.

"Ready or not… Here I come…"

The couple took off as fast as they could and Rayne followed suit without anyone noticing them. She chased them all the way towards a vampire ghetto, a common but well hidden sight in Old World cities. During her pursuit, Rayne grabbed a clothesline and she stripped it of all its laundry and she shaped the one end into a lasso as she ran. And those were the events that lead to Rayne towering over a grieving Zdenka and the severed head of her Radovan. Rayne felt pity at first at this sight but she then remembered that this woman was monster who was going to feed on the blood of a pregnant woman and her unborn baby.

"We have no use for a vampire in our ranks. This is a waste of time." Dark Man said with barely veiled anger.

"Not vampire… Half vampire." Specter Lord said calmly. "Fewer weaknesses, she must feed."

With all pity gone, Rayne retracted Malebranche so she could execute Zdenka. Sensing danger, Zdenka dropped her human façade and her true self emerged. With a loud hiss, she lunged at Rayne, attempting to slash her face with her claws but Rayne evaded it. In rage, Zdenka charged again and Rayne sidestepped her once more and the two were now at a standoff.

"Huh… Picked a dangerous place to feed." Dark Man said in amusement. The two watched as Rayne and her target circled each other.

"She's hunting… Looking for her father." Specter Lord said. Dark Man suddenly became interested. Tired of circling under the street lamps, Zdenka stood her ground, let out a deep growl and she ran towards Rayne. Rayne jumped up and kicked her in the face, sending the vampire flying and landing on her stomach.

"Urgh!"

Zdenka tried to get up but Rayne stepped on her back. Retracting her left arm blade, Rayne grabbed Zdenka's arm and she broke it with one twist. The unholy woman let out a monstrous howl of pain.

"The Brimstone Society…" Dark Man began.

"The Brimstone Society _needs_ her…" Specter Lord interrupted. "We will extend invitation. Time to go."

Dark Man was silent. Specter Lord had won. Deep down, he knew that Dark Man would accept Rayne, he just let his stubbornness and inability to accept defeat get in the way of reason. As they turned to leave, Specter Lord slipped a more elaborate Brimstone pendant around an elegantly decorated cross that was held by a gargoyle and the two left Rayne to her own devices. As Rayne held a struggling Zdenka down, she had an idea. Since she was a vampire, maybe she knew who Kagan was and where he might be.

"Where is he bitch!" She growled. Before she could say her father's name, Zdenka let out a shrill scream. She was calling out to her vampire brethren who were hiding in the ancient tenements. Realizing that this was pointless, an annoyed Rayne stabbed Zdenka at the base of her neck and she hefted her up, still screaming, with one hand. She slipped her blade out and she decapitated the woman with the other sword, silencing her forever.

But her dying cries did not go unheard…

Dark whispering voices echoed throughout the cold, foggy air and this put Rayne on even higher alert. Soon windows and doors were broken down as cloaked vampires began to emerge from their lairs to confront this murderess. But as they gathered, they found the street empty of the murderer. The only thing there was Radovan's head, his wife's recently decapitated corpse, and a grenade that was left spinning on the pavement. On closer inspection, it was noted that the clip to grenade was gone.

A vampire hissed hesitantly at the sight. As Rayne made her way up to the roof where Dark Man and Specter Lord were, a powerful explosion rocked the street, devastating everything within its radius and killing every vampire that had assembled there. Pleased with her work, Rayne turned to see the pendant left by Specter Lord glistening in the fire cloud. It was like her's except this one had a bigger ruby and it was set in a white silver base. The Brimstone Society's symbol began to emerge in the red miasma that the jewel seemed to contain.

She had passed her debut.

She was ready to join Brimstone.

* * *

**Every line spoken by Dark Man, Specter Lord, Rayne and company were quoted word for word from the game. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia is no more and is now made up of the Balkan countries of Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and many others. Researching this was fun. All languages were shown were spoken in Yugoslavia and the tranlastions received from Google translate. Thank you for reading and ****_please review! :) _**

**PS: Belgrade is now the capital of Serbia.**

***= Hex signs are a common sight in rural Pennsylvania. From what I read in Wikipedia, hex signs were used as decorations for barns by the Pennsylvania Dutch(Deutsch). Non-Pennsylvania Dutch members used them as a protective charm for their own barns. **


	4. Chapter 3: Queen City

**Hello everyone, did you all have a good Halloween? Here is the second chapter of BloodRayne. Please enjoy! **

* * *

_**New Orleans, Louisiana **_

_** The Regal Lady Hotel**_

_** July 18, 1933**_

It was quite hot and humid outside despite it being nighttime. But thankfully the high ceiling fan in the hotel room was on and its gentle swirling blades cooled the air. Even in the intense Southern heat, Rayne and Mynce could hear the sounds of life going about outside in the streets of New Orleans. Jazz music and conversations wafted out of restaurants and cafes from the streets along with the scents cooking rice, bell pepper and shrimp, couples promenading up and down the colonial streets arm in arm enjoying all the South had to offer, the unique voices of African-Americans who were either discussing about attending a *****juke joint or going home to bed because they had to get up early the next day for work. It was like New York except it was a bit quieter.

As Rayne looked out towards the sparkling city over the small veranda from her couch, Mynce sat across from her picking her teeth with a toothpick. The two had just finished a meal of red beans and rice with sweet tea, a true Louisiana dinner through and through. Mynce was Rayne's assigned partner and mentor from the Brimstone Society. She was of Tibetan descent and a dhampir as well. Her father was a vampire who lived in an abandoned Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas and he met Mynce's mother after he rescued her from an avalanche.

She was in a traveling wedding party; she was the bride and the sole survivor. Apparently the two got along despite her initial fright and the two had Mynce together. However, when Mynce was six years old, bandits broke into the monastery for shelter from a blizzard and they murdered her mother and her father when they surprised them. Her father managed to kill off most of them before finally expiring himself. The remaining bandits then captured Mynce and decided to sell her off to a rich nobleman as an oddity and future sex slave when they got down from the mountain after the blizzard had passed.

But Mynce, shaken by what had just happened, awoke to her powers and she killed all of the bandits as they slept that night.

This all occurred over 400 years ago and Mynce looked like she was in her late twenties. Mynce joined Brimstone in 1906 after she was discovered by a Brimstone operative who was investigating a case of vampirism in that region of Tibet that Mynce lived in. She was a gentle, soft spoken and matter-of-fact person. But don't be fooled, under her Oriental, baby like face, Mynce was a lethal warrior and she could end a life in the blink of an eye if she wanted to. Just the kind of person that Rayne needed as she began her new life as a Brimstone agent.

After she was done picking her teeth, Mynce aimed and flicked the toothpick into a wastebasket by the front door. It landed inside in a perfect arc.

"So how are you feeling?" She asked.

"I feel fine, maybe a little nervous but that will pass after I start slicing up some monsters."

Mynce chuckled.

"I love your enthusiasm. I felt the same way during my first mission for Brimstone. It occurred shortly after I joined the Society. People in a rural Quebec town were reporting that they were hearing bizarre noises at night, seeing a mysterious wolf like beast that walked on two legs instead of four and that their pets were disappearing into the night after being let out. So Brimstone sent me to investigate."

Leaned in in interest of Mynce's story.

"I tracked the beast's trail to a lakeside summerhouse that was owned by a very wealthy businessman who hadn't been heard from since the sightings started. I found him in the basement; he was dead and severely mutilated. He was by some magic circle that First Nation shamans used for summoning spirits. I found his journal later, it turned out that his wife was going to divorce him and she was going to take a lot of his money. The husband didn't want this obviously so he planned on killing her but he was too nervous to do it on his own. So he purchased a book that detailed First Nation rituals and he attempted to summon a spirit that would kill his wife. But, he did it wrong and he ended up summoning a *****loup-garou spirit and it killed him and escaped outside.

I eventually tracked it down and killed it. But I felt more sorry for it rather than it's first victim. "

Rayne was in disbelief. This guy was such an ass that he couldn't bear the thought of parting with his money and move on?

"Did they have a kid? Is that why his wife asked for so much money?"

"Yeah, he mentioned about having a son in his journal. But he obviously didn't care enough about his child's emotional well-being if he was going to kill his mother."

Rayne smirked and shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. Her first mission however, guaranteed zombies rather than werewolves. From what she learned in newspapers and Brimstone reports, a small town called Mortton was under state quarantine due to a mysterious and apparently contagious necrotizing disease that was plaguing it. Apparently at first, it was believed that the townspeople had been afflicted with Chagas Disease, a protozoa borne parasite that was usually found in Latin and South America and very rarely in American states that bordered on the Gulf of Mexico. Since so many people were getting huge swellings on their faces and limbs, the defining characteristic of the disease, a health inspector arrived in Morton to find the source of the illness since the town was located near the Mississippi Delta and ships that had sailed through the Gulf were usually abandoned there after they had become too old to use.

However, things took a turn for the worse when the infected townspeople began to suffer necrosis, which is not part of the disease at all, at a rapid pace and their temperaments began to change from mild to mercurial in a heartbeat. And besides that, frightening physical mutations such as arms turning into clawed tentacles and hardened skin began to appear on some of the infected. The health inspector ran out of town as the people began to transform into monsters and he alerted the Louisiana governor. The governor in turn ordered a dam near Mortton destroyed to flood the town so that the disease could not spread and passed it off as a terrible accident in the newspapers. He even summoned the National Guard to patrol the now flooded area to prevent anyone from swimming across.

Mortton's situation was dire indeed.

Other classified documents that Brimstone was able to obtain also spoke of sightings of spider like creatures were seen skittering in the distance through the murky water near Mortton. It was quite the first mission and it took awhile for Rayne to get it. After killing the Cheovic's, Rayne was accepted, however she had to wait for her seventeenth birthday to arrive because Brimstone didn't take anyone in below that age even if the potential agent wasn't completely human. So for four long months, Rayne waited for the day of her initiation. But soon, July 11 arrived and Rayne's initiation ceremony was held.

Shortly after everyone had gone to bed after celebrating Rayne's birthday, she and the Professor embarked on a trip to the old Trumain family crypt. The catacombs were located under the foundation where Trumain Castle was located before Phillip Trumain tore it down during the Elizabethan Era. He was an ancestor of the family who was known for his impulsive spending and opulent tastes. The family decided to leave the remains of their ancestors in their sarcophagi out of respect and every family member since then has been interred in a marble mausoleum on the vast property that they owned. It was customary, Turmain had told Rayne, that every family member who been sworn into the Brimstone Society had their ceremony conducted in front of the sarcophagus belonging to Sir Thomas Trumain, the greatest ancestor of the Trumain family and an original co-founder of Brimstone in 1099.

The Trumain family origins were rather poor at first. The first notable ancestor was Stanley Trumain and he was born into a peasant family during the reign of Anglo-Saxon kings. He saved the son of the lord who owned his family's lands from drowning in a pond and this earned him a job as a page in the nobleman's castle. Years later, he had a son named George who later became a great knight who gained a substantial fiefdom and later had a son of his own whom he named Thomas and it would be he who would transcend the Trumain family to greatness. When Thomas was eighteen, he joined William the Conqueror's quest to take England back from Harold Godwin, who had swindled the crown from him and betrayed his promise to honor William and his claim to the throne.

Thomas fought during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. During the fighting, William fell off his horse and was about to be skewered by a Saxon lance until Thomas intervened and he decapitated the man with his sword. Thanks to him, William the Conqueror got back on his horse, motivated his troops and the battle was won when Harold was struck in the eye by an arrow.

The reign of the Anglo-Saxons was over and the line of Norman kings was now beginning.

William did not forget his savior and when he became king, he gifted Thomas with great tracts of land including those of the family of the nobleman who had originally taken in his grandfather. So large in fact that when the *****Domesday Book was being made two years later, it took a two days to survey the entire property. Thirty-three years later, Thomas fought in the First Crusade. During his time there, he met a German knight who only identified himself as Ignatz, and together with him and the other heads of prominent families of Europe, they founded the Brimstone Society in an isolated monastery called St. Ignatius in what was now the Transemirate of Jordan (just Jordan now). Thomas died in 1104 during the Siege of Acre; ironically, a lance killed him.

It was also in the year 1099 during the Siege of Jerusalem, when the first recorded sighting of Kagan. Thomas 's body was brought back to England and he was buried with his sword, "_Marianna", _which was named after his Italian wife. Rayne was going to be inducted into Brimstone with this sword, the rite carried out very similarly like a knighting ritual. As the car reached the former site of Trumain Castle, the headlights shone off the polished black metal chassis of two other cars with tinted windows. The town of Bernwickshire shimmered brightly with its remaining lights under the hill that the castle formerly stood on. As soon as Rayne and the Professor came out of their car, robed figures emerged from theirs.

"Good evening Trumain." Said one of the figures.

"Dark Man, how are you this evening?" Trumain said to him.

"Very well thank you." He turned towards Rayne.

"Happy birthday Miss Rayne. Today is indeed a special day. Not only have you turned seventeen, but also you are now able to join us. Your patience shall now be richly rewarded. Shall we begin?"

He gestured the Professor to take the lead and he and Rayne followed him down the weather worn steps towards a wood and iron door. After unlocking it, the other cloaked figures followed the three silently. Torches lit the ancient stones as the group walked towards the main chamber. Soon the sarcophagi of Trumain ancestors began to appear. The supine carvings on the heavy lids were sculpted down to the last detail and some still had some paint visible on the folds and creases of their stone clothes and fingers.

Soon the coffins of Stanley and George Trumain appeared and on a raised section of the floor behind them was Thomas and his wife's final resting place. The professor went up towards the left side of the lid were the sculpture of Thomas was and he pulled the sword "_Marianna" _from his stone hands. A cloaked figure walked up to the descending Professor and he or she draped his shoulders with a beautiful red cloak that had an ornate brooch with the Brimstone's symbol on it. The professor stood in front of the platform.

"Rayne, please come forward."

Rayne walked towards the Professor. Another cloaked figure came forward and he or she too draped her shoulders with a red cloak.

"Please kneel."

Rayne did as told and the flat end of "_Marianna" _was placed gently on her left shoulder. Trumain cleared his throat and spoke.

"Oh great God who watches us from the heavens, please bestow upon Rayne a benediction as she is now taking up the arms of the Trumain family in their eternal struggle to protecting the peace and sanctity of the world. She is not of our bloodline but she is my daughter nonetheless."

Rayne was touched by those words. He continued.

"Rayne, do you accept this?"

"Yes I do." Rayne said.

The sword was tapped twice against her shoulder.

"Are you ready?" The Professor said as he switched the blade to Rayne's right shoulder and he tapped it twice.

"Yes I am." Rayne said.

"And it shall be done." Trumain finished by gently touching the top of Rayne's head with _"Marianna". _

Trumain backed away and Dark Man came towards Rayne with an aged scroll in his hands.

"We now recite the Oath of Fealty. Rayne, repeat every word that I say."

Rayne nodded and Dark Man unrolled the scroll. He and Rayne began to recite the following words.

"_**Upon this night of July 11, 1933, seventeen years after the year of my birth, I, Rayne Amelia McDougal Trumain, shall pledge my heart and soul to the the Brimstone Society, the Staunch Protectors of Order and Reason. I shall take up arms against those who terrorize the Respected Balance between Man and Monster and set forth an example to be followed by all. I hereby mark this decree with my blood, the sign of my eternal allegiance to the Brimstone Society. Alea Iacata Est. The Die has been cast." **_

As soon as the recital was over, Dark Man turned the scroll to face Rayne and he pointed towards the lower end of the paper where Brimstone's symbol was. Rayne then bit her thumb and she pressed it against the ink symbol, leaving a bloody thumbprint on the symbol. Dark Man raised his hand and scroll into the air and he proclaimed in a lofty voice.

"Brothers and Sisters of Brimstone. Tonight, we have gained a new member into our ranks. Please welcome Rayne Amelia McDougal Trumain."

Rayne stood and turned to face the applauding crowd before her. It was a grand moment. After her initiation, Rayne was given the moniker "BloodRayne" and she was assigned her first mission and mentor. Rayne smirked briefly at the memory of the events and how sudden they all were. A knock at the door turned her attention.

"Good evenin, is a Ms. Mina Smith here?" a Southern accent came through.

"Yes that would be me. What is it?" Mynce called it out. Mina Smith was the name Mynce used to sign in into the hotel with.

"I got a telegram for you miss. It's from Benedict's Wharf. Do you want me to slip it under the door for you?"

"Yes please but stay there. I've got something for you."

Mynce walked up towards the door and she pulled out a five-dollar bill. Mynce picked up the slip of paper and she pushed the money under the door for the man. A happy voice rang out.

"Why thank you mam! You are so generous!"

"Don't mention it." Mynce said.

The footsteps walked off and Mynce came back to the couch.

"That five dollars is probably more than what he makes here. He sounded like he was a Negro too." Mynce said as she sat back down.

She then read the telegram.

"Splendid!" Mynce said suddenly.

"The boat I rented is now ready for us. Are you ready Rayne?"

"More than I'll ever be." Rayne said with sharp smile.

Mynce laughed.

"Wonderful. Lets go."

The two headed towards the open veranda and together they jumped over the rooftops of New Orleans. Nobody noticed the shadows that leapt across like comets over their heads. They were too absorbed into the New Orleans nightlife to care.

* * *

**And that is the beginning of the Louisiana mission. Next up, the mission itself. Thank you all for reading and _please review! :)_  
**

***= **A juke joint was place were African-Americans could go to listen to music, get a drink and socialize. These were an integral part of their communities since they were segregated from establishments that were frequented by whites.

***=** Loup-Garou is french for werewolf.

***= **The Domesday Book was created by order of William the Conquer to catalog all of the lands, people and livestock that resided during his reign. It took seven full years to finish. (1079-1086) I learned all of these things in my English History class. This is a good way to remember them all!

**PS: **"Queen City" is another nickname for New Orleans.

**#**I also got my info on Chagas Disease from the CDC site and a ways back, Wikipedia. If you look at some of the mutates in the game, you'll notice that they have a swelling on their face that resembles the ones seen on those who suffer from the illness.

**#**The name Mina is derived from the character of the same name from Bram Stoker's _"Dracula". _It was the name of the main protagonist's fiancee.


	5. Chapter 4: Town Underwater

**Hiya everyone! I know it has been awhile but here is the third chapter. Enjoy! **

**Author's Note:****Blood and gore ahead. **

* * *

_**Mortton, Somewhere near the Mississippi River Delta**_

A large full moon reflected off of the muddy, green water of the bayou as frogs and crickets played a peaceful chorus amongst the water vegetation. Another sound soon joined the ruckus. It was the sound of giant fan blades propelling a boat through the *****"Big Muddy". Rayne sat in front of the fan operating the gear shift to guide the boat while Mynce acted as the lookout for any sign for the town of Mortton. Besides the sounds, the women also picked up the scents of the Mississippi River and bayou with their noses.

Minerals that floated microscopically in the brown water and the moist decaying scent of water vegetation and at least one dead frog or fish. The buzzing of mosquitoes appeared as soon as they detected a fresh and warm source of blood in their midst. One of them landed on Rayne's chest and just as its proboscis punctured her skin, Rayne slapped it flat.

"Damn bloodsuckers." She said and she licked her hand to retrieve her stolen blood.

"Careful with your relatives." Mynce said as Rayne took in the soft, crushed carcass of the mosquito along with her blood with one swipe of her tongue.

"They should have more sense." She said in return in a mock childish voice.

"Thanks for dragging me out here. I just love the water."

Rayne's excitement for the mission had waned a little when she saw the extent of the flooding and it made her bitter and moody. Wherever she turned her head, she saw nothing but water and a few barren trees with strips of Spanish moss hanging off the branches like curtains.

"You're only half-vampire. A dip might hurt but it wont kill you." Mynce said matter-of-factly.

"So does sticking a finger in my eye. Doesn't mean I have to do it." Rayne said bluntly.

"No time for pleasantries. Just like your half-sister." Mynce said amusingly.

She was referencing to Holly, who was giving Brimstone agents the stink eye whenever they came to talk with Rayne about the details of their mission. When they tried to talk with her, Holly would just put her chin up and walk away in stride. Rayne's other half-siblings weren't too fond of them either but they were more mature about it. The excuse was that Rayne was going to America to look for a university to attend in the future. That excuse had to have made them all laugh, Mathias and the Professor himself especially. They all knew that Rayne was somewhat of a slacker but she made do.

These thoughts made Rayne wander how everyone was doing back home and it made her a little homesick.

"I'm just confident in my abilities." Rayne said after a bit.

"So am I. But this is your first mission for the Brimstone Society so everything must go according to plan. What do we know so far?" Mynce said in a stern tone, she was making it clear that she wasn't going to put up with Rayne's bad mood just because of the flood. Mynce had nothing to worry about since she was immune to the burning effect of water. Her one major weakness however was garlic. It was so bad, that just the smell of it made Mynce sick.

"Fine. Newspapers claim the people of Mortton, Louisiana are turning into some type of monster. They're calling them "Mutates". Doctors think that a new disease is the cause, so they've quarantined the area."

Mynce nodded with approval at that summation. A splash echoed not too far ahead. It was brief, but the women knew it was not human. Maybe it was a fish surfacing to catch a dragonfly or, it was a Mutate looking to see who was coming.

"You make me proud." She said in a softened tone. Rayne wasn't finished however.

"There are numerous known biological masses in town. They appear to be the "carriers" of the condition."

Brimstone had gained a lot of info from the National Guard. So far, the state government had been doing its best to keep the situation hush hush, but a few sightings got by and were published in the newspapers, but most people thought they were hoaxes. But now Rayne and Mynce were after these so-called "hoaxes" and were going to put an end to them.

Thanks to Brimstone, Rayne and Mynce were able to avoid the National Guard patrols around the floodplain.

But whatever happened next will be on their own personal jurisdiction.

"And that's were you come in. Destroy the sources of the infection and as many of the infected townspeople as possible. The disease cannot spread beyond this village."

"Sort of a radical cure don't you think?" Rayne asked.

"You'll be doing them a favor. In the final stages, their brains liquefy and run out their nose and ears."

"Hell of a cold." Rayne said in disgust.

A rotted and paint chipped wooden structure appeared in the water by a tree draped with Spanish moss. Closer examination revealed that it was a sign welcoming people to Mortton, showing that it was founded in 1709 and that its population was numbered at 114.

"I wander how many are left." Mynce remarked. For all she knew, everyone could've dead by now.

Besides the sign, Rayne and Mynce saw barren looking long houses that were suspended off the ground with very sturdy posts. A porch swing creaked eerily in the breeze. Rayne turned on her Aura Sense, but nothing showed up to indicate any survivors or Mutates. They continued on their way until they came upon dry land and there they disembarked. An old church with stained glass windows loomed over the two on a small hill just ahead.

"One of the biological masses was found at the end of this road in a graveyard behind the church. We'll meet up there."

The sharp, acidic smell of bile came towards Rayne and Mynce's noses and it brought their attention to small, gooey pile of what appeared to be rotten meat that had flies buzzing crazily around it on the grass by a telephone pole.

"What's that?" Mynce asked to herself aloud.

She and Rayne made their way towards the foul smelling thing. It glistened with saliva and mucous and stomach acid that was slowly burning the remaining flesh. It was totally disgusting.

"What is it?" Rayne asked in disgust.

"It is… was… human. " Mynce corrected herself as she crouched down over the fleshy pile. "Might be remains from the final stages of the disease, but there's something not quite right about it…" she said as she analyzed the remains. Mynce looked towards the church.

"Lets check inside."

The dissolving corpse didn't yield anything else and the two made their way to the church. Inside they found the bloodied remains of three men and two women including several of what appeared to be the infamous *****"Mutates". These monsters still retained their human shape and forms albeit they had chunks of their flesh missing, exposed muscles and bone especially the ribcage on some and they reeked of damp and rot. Some them still had guns firmly held in their dead hands.

"Hmmm… seems like somebody made their last stand here. Grab some guns if you like." Mynce offered and she went towards a table up at the back that had a long row of old books.

Rayne took a pistol from the stiff, cold fingers of one dead man.

"At least we are not hypersensitive to holy objects like some vampires." She remarked. The church was simple yet very beautiful on the inside despite the carnage.

Four candles were laid out neatly in a row on a small table covered in white cloth. One had been knocked over though; a stray bullet had taken off the top of it. A pulpit with the Bible opened on Corinthians laid in stately repose and behind it; a giant wooden cross with Jesus pinned to it in all of his humble agony. Mynce was busy leafing through the books that were to the left of the pulpit. As Rayne took in her new surroundings, a low human like growl came to her ears.

She turned towards the windows. With their advanced hearing, the women heard the sounds of water splashing and something coming out and running towards the church, and judging by the volume of the noise, they were a lot of those something's.

They had company.

"Rayne, will you please go take care of them for me? I'm going to stay here and look over these documents to find any records of any past outbreaks of this disease. We might get some clue as to what is going on here."

"Sure. I thought you would never ask."

Rayne was feeling much better now. After collecting some more guns, she crept up towards the front door and ever so gently she nudged it open. Through the crack, she saw the Mutates. They made deep breathing noises through their mouths and even from a distance, Rayne could see in their eyes that they were dull witted and possessed no humanity left in them whatsoever. Rayne cocked a double barrel shotgun she found, and with one powerful kick, she violently opened the church doors.

The Mutates turned their shocked faces towards the door; the monster closest to it got shot cleanly between the eyes by Rayne. The other Mutates began shooting at Rayne but she effortlessly rolled under the gunfire and she brought out the shotgun just as she regained her footing. With it, she blew a hole the size of a dinner plate into the stomach of one Mutate while still crouching, whose only response was to stare dumbly at his gaping wound, and shot off the head of another as she began to stand.

"Guuhhhhh…"

The Mutate with the hole in its stomach gurgled as it lumbered over. To save ammo, Rayne retracted Malebranche and she sliced off the Mutate's head with one swing. A bullet whizzed by Rayne's head, taking off a few strands of her crimson hair. It came from the direction of the floodplain and there Rayne turned to see a female Mutate standing ankle deep in the water were the boat was docked. She wore a torn light green dress with a white flower pattern on it that was dull and damp and when she walked out of the water, Rayne saw that the woman's rotted teeth were exposed from the lack of lips and one of her dark, beady eyes didn't have eyelids, giving her a frightening appearance.

"Rrrrrrrrr…" Was all she could say and she began to reload her gun.

Rayne ran towards her with her swords ready and she jumped up as soon as the Mutate pointed her loaded weapon at her. The Mutate aimed the gun skyward at Rayne and fired but her target twisted herself in mid-air so she could land behind the creature and with her swords, she severed both of the woman's arms off. The Mutate backed up slowly, her torso twitching and contorting with each tremor of pain until she finally collapsed dead from blood loss. Rayne felt exhilarated with what she just did. She had such great skill and she executed it flawlessly with little effort.

"Urrrrghh"

Rayned turned her head to her left and under the boughs of a tree by the church, she saw another Mutate. This one was different from the ones she had just killed. Unlike the rotting, slimy skin of the other ones, this Mutate had what appeared to be mottled, peeling brownish skin with sunken dark eyes, a cleft like cavern that was in the place of his nose and a part of his upper lip and its hands were severely mutated, it's right hand had only three moderately long claws, it's left had three gigantic clawed tentacle like appendages that looked capable of dealing some considerable damage. It just stood there watching Rayne safely from the distance. It wasn't going to be safe there for long however.

Rayne ran towards it and the creature stirred to life and it began to lumber towards Rayne with its monstrous left arm outstretched, ready to carve or bash it's opponent in. Rayne brought out two pistols and she shot both of them at the monster but it didn't seem to affect it. The ammo quickly ran out and Rayne discarded the guns and she retracted Malebranche. Just as the distance between Rayne and the Mutate was being closed, the creature swung his left arm out towards Rayne but she ducked down just in time and she raised her own left arm up with the blade out and she sliced off the creature's extended limb. Undeterred by this sudden amputation, the Mutate turned around to try and stab Rayne with its other hand but she was too quick for him, and she sliced off his head with one swipe.

The headless, one-armed cadaver stood there for a brief half minute before finally falling down with blood flowing down from its cleanly cleaved neck. Rayne heard movement coming from the water, and she looked ahead to see another Tentacle Mutate coming. It had probably heard the commotion and it was coming to investigate. Rayne ran up towards it and she waited for the creature to come out of the water completely. When it did, Rayne took it out with a few strikes from Malebranche.

With this side of the church cleared of monsters, Rayne went to investigate the other side for any signs of other infected townspeople. She didn't have to wait long, for as soon as Rayne rounded the corner, she heard gunshots being fired. She saw a "Diseased" man shooting at a Mutate from the water. However, the Mutate was undeterred and it lumbered towards its assailant and as soon as it got close, the Mutate clubbed the Diseased with its warped left arm. The blow was strong enough to break the Diseased man's shoulder and he dropped his gun and the Mutate then used its right hand to lift up the Diseased up and strangle him to death.

Rayne watched all of this silently and as soon as the lifeless corpse was released from the Mutate's grip, she ran up to it with outstretched blades, and just as the monster turned its head towards her, she cut it off with a dual swing of sharp iron. Rayne's biceps felt hard, she was getting a good workout from all this monster slaying and plus, she was feeling less moody about the flooding too. But now, she had to find a way into Mortton itself. With her Aura Sense, Rayne found a place of interest farther down from the church. But instead of houses, Rayne came across a huge wall.

It was a bizarre sight, the wall looked so out of place it appeared like it should have been a defensive wall found at a castle in Europe, not in small town Louisiana in the middle of nowhere. Rayne craned her neck to look up at the tall, imposing structure. It was made of stone that was moss ridden on several sections and strange markings pockmarked it. The marks looked like they were made from claws. Footsteps steadily came up towards Rayne.

Rayne looked behind her to see Mynce approaching her.

"Hey Mynce what are you doing here?" Rayne asked.

"Just coming to check on you and to see if you left any Mutates for me."

Rayne smirked.

"Getting bored with reading huh?"

"Oh no… Just wanted to see if you needed any help. But it is quite apparent that you can take care of yourself."

Mynce looked ahead and she saw the wall.

"I see that you have found the wall. From what I read, it's somewhat of a tourist attraction. That wall stretches across the entire town. It's thirty feet high…"

"I can see that…. So… why was it made?" Rayne asked, perplexed.

Mynce crossed her arms and she spoke.

"From what I understood, even the earliest French settlers feared something in these swamps…"

"Feared what?" Rayne asked.

"The Mutates?" she thought to herself.

Mynce turned her head idly towards the wall and something caught her attention.

"What's this?"

It was a commemorative plaque that was set into the stone. Mynce read from it.

_"After our dark year of 1873, the first stone of this Great Wall of Fortitude was laid. With this plaque mounted in the year 1888 of our Lord, construction is complete. May this Wall of Fortitude, with the grace of God shield us from evil and keep us safe, now and forever."_

Rayne stared at the plaque. What on earth had happened in this town all those years ago that was so bad that the townspeople had to build a huge, fricken wall to protect themselves?

This mission was getting weirder and weirder with every minute.

Mynce suddenly turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" Rayne asked.

Mynce turned to answer her.

"I'm going back to the church. I want to see what else I can find in those books. You on the other hand should find the bio-masses. Destroy them and this disease may be eradicated. Take care of yourself now Rayne. You'll have to traverse around water without the boat. I will meet up with you later."

And with that Mynce left, along the way she killed a Mutate by slicing its head in half. Rayne watched as Mynce disappeared into the church.

"Grauggghhhh"

More Mutates were starting to come out of the water and were approaching the area that Rayne was in. Rayne smiled and she retracted Malebranche.

"Time to get back to work." she thought to herself with a smile.

After dispatching the five Mutates that appeared, Rayne went to collect some more guns from around the church and the corpses of the Diseased. With this done, she activated her Aura Sense. Her target was just down the road but that entire area was covered in brown water. Looking up, Rayne saw the telephone wires suspended above her and the water. With no other options available, she jumped up onto the rubber wires.

She was able to keep a perfect balance, just like a gymnast or trapeze artist. Happy with her ingenuity, Rayne proceeded to run down the wire towards Mortton's cemetery.

* * *

**Most of the dialogue is from the game itself but I have placed my own original text into this chapter as well. There will be some aspects of my story that will be different from the game. The introduction of a female Mutate is the first one. I don't know when the next chapter will be updated because I have finals coming up. Thank you all for reading and _please review! :) _**

***= A nickname for the Mississippi River  
**

***= I learned from the BloodRayne wiki that the zombie like enemies in the first mission are actually called the "Diseased". Rayne didn't know that yet. **


	6. Chapter 5: Mysteries of the Bayou

**Hey everyone, long time no write! Christmas and New Years is on the way, are you all excited? I am! Anyways, more action is here and monsters are on the way. Please enjoy! **

**Author's Note: ****Blood and gore ahead****  
**

* * *

_**Mortton Graveyard**_

Lights from lampposts shined through the night as Rayne made her way towards the cemetery. The cemetery's sign had broken off at one end at the entrance gate and it hung there diagonally, creaking every now and then like a hanged man from a breeze or from its own weight. A Diseased guarded the entrance under the sign with a shotgun in his hand. He didn't notice Rayne's approach via telephone wire from above. This gave Rayne the element of surprise but she was torn on how to perform her sneak attack.

She could either jump down and chop up the monster right then and there or, she could shoot out the remaining chain that held up the corner of the sign so that it could fall on the Diseased. Rayne chose the latter and she took out a six-shooter. She squinted slightly so she could get an approximate aim at the chain and she fired. The bullet severed the rusted chain and the sign fell on top of the Diseased.

"Gahhh!"

The monster gasped with surprise as the heavy wooden sign fell on top of him. He started trying to get up but Rayne jumped down from the telephone wire and she unceremoniously pierced the monster in the head with her stiletto heel. The man was seized by tremors for a moment but before long he went completely still. Rayne could hear low growling coming from the sea of *****raised gravestones beyond the gate. Rayne waited for more monsters to arrive but none came.

Apparently the sound of a gunshot didn't concern the Diseased that much. Rayne walked into the graveyard and to avoid detection, she walked behind the raised gravestones. She could hear deep breathing coming from one and Rayne quickly hugged the corner of one grave and she inched over slowly to find a Diseased man standing nearby with a pistol in its hand. He looked like he was in his late adolescent years, around seventeen or eighteen perhaps. This time around, Rayne decided to be more direct with her offensive.

She turned the corner with a blade out and just as the monster looked, Rayne swung her blade up. The blade sliced diagonally through the creature's skull as if it were a gust of wind and he just stood there staring even as a part of his head slid off and fell onto the grass below. He fell moments later. Pleased with herself, Rayne walked with a skip in her step out onto the main dirt path. A bullet whizzed by and it grazed her stomach.

"Ow fuck!" she shouted and more bullets soon followed that. They came from the rifle of a Diseased man and he wasn't alone, there was Diseased woman as well but instead of a gun, she was armed with an axe. Another Diseased emerged from around a domed grave with his pistol aimed at Rayne's head. The two Diseased men began to open fire simultaneously at Rayne but she managed to avoid the gunfire with a series of back-flips. As Rayne quickly got out of their range, the monsters began to run after her with their weapons raised.

To escape the onslaught, Rayne jumped up onto the gravestones and when she reached the dome of the grave that the pistol wielding Diseased one appeared from, she leaped over and with Malebranche retracted out, she fell upon the rifle wielding Diseased with an X shaped slash, killing him instantly. With that one out of the way, Rayne turned towards the pistol holding Diseased. He began to fire at her but since he was a poor shot, some of the bullets hit his female companion who was in front of him but she remained stoic about it and only grunted as the bullets went through her. Rayne repeated the same thing with the pistol holder but instead of an X shaped slash, Rayne simply sliced off his legs at the hips when she landed. As the Diseased fell into a pool of its own blood, Rayne spun around to see the Axe Lady coming at her with her eponymous weapon brandished over her head.

Rayne dispatched her with a single bullet hole to the head. A loud hissing roar echoed over across raised tombs. Rayne's Aura Sense revealed that the noise came from her left. Upon investigation, Rayne found a group of Tentacle Mutates but what they were surrounding shocked her. It was a bobcat and just like the Diseased, it was missing chunks of its skin and it looked mangy.

Apparently this pestilence affected animals too. Rayne was going to have to be extra careful whenever she got near water now, because with Mortton located next to a bayou, she might encounter infected alligators along with poisonous snakes. The bobcat furiously slashed at the legs of the Mutates, one swipe clawed off all of the flesh from the kneecaps of one Mutate, leaving its patella's exposed. Rayne looked more closely and saw a slimy pile of regurgitated remains, just like the one seen at the church and surrounding areas. The bobcat was most likely protecting its dinner.

"Rawwwer!"

With one more angry roar, the bobcat jumped onto a Mutate and it began to tear into his face with its teeth. As the Mutate's comrade came to his aid, Rayne opened fire on them with the guns she had collected. It didn't take long to take down the Mutate and the bobcat followed suit. Rayne jumped down and analyzed the Mutate that the feline had been gnawing on. It was dead from blood loss and trauma.

Aura Sense directed Rayne towards a large church-like building in the middle of the grave studded swamp. It was probably used for funerals or wakes. Rayne ran towards the water and she jumped from gravestone to gravestone, sometimes finding herself balancing on the top of spires that decorated the graves. When she landed on the flat roof of one stone, Rayne looked through the open windows of the structure and she surprised by what she saw.

"What the hell…?" she said to herself.

Inside were these bizarre spider like monsters. From what Rayne could see, they didn't have any eyes, they had sallow tinted skin, four slender, reed-like legs and two sharp looking fangs and two whip like flaps on its mouth, giving it a rough flower like shape. Could these monsters be the source of the plague here? From what she could tell from her position, the creatures were just standing there motionless. But their idleness wouldn't last for long.

Rayne quickly leapt over the graves and she barged in on the spider creatures. The beasts let out a shrill, hollow sounding howl and they began to converge on Rayne with their talons and fangs. Rayne concentrated all of her power and she awoke her vampire side. In a flurry of steel and blood lust, Rayne dismembered the creatures. Foul smelling yellow blood spurted out of the stumps that were created as their legs and heads were being severed.

In just a minute, all the creatures were dead, mutilated and lying in puddles of their yellow blood. Curious, Rayne dabbed her finger on one of her soaked blades and she licked it. She nearly vomited. The blood tasted so awful, the flavor was reminiscent of rotten eggs and sewage. The horrible taste along with the repulsive smell of the blood, which reminded Rayne of crushed ladybugs, were increased by her dhampir senses and it made her dizzy.

She had to get out of this building and into some clean air. Seeing a door, Rayne took it but she almost stepped into the water. However that situation was quickly remedied with a leap onto the building's roof. With her senses being cleared, Rayne looked ahead and she saw a giant stone mausoleum far ahead. With her Aura Sense, Rayne saw that her target was just beyond the structure.

Rayne made her way towards the mausoleum and as soon as she landed in front of a stray tomb, a spider monster burst out with a shrill screech. It attacked by stretching out its mouth like an accordion to bite but Rayne jumped away from it before the fangs could even touch her. In response the creature swiped at its target with it's left talon but this only resulted in having it amputated by Rayne. One more swift slash and the monster's head fell to the ground with a thud. Crushed ladybug smell began to waft from the open wounds and Rayne left to pursue her objective.

Just ahead of the mausoleum, at a corner of the giant wall was something truly bizarre. It was a mass of pulsing flesh that vaguely resembled a hornet's nest and it was deeply rooted into the stone with strands of its own sinews. As Rayne looked on perturbed, the mass began to shutter violently. A vertical slit appeared on the center of the body and it was followed by a slurping noise. As the noise got louder, a spider creature jumped out, its body covered in the gelatinous slime of its afterbirth.

"That's the biomass?!"

Rayne activated her Aura Sense and the giant blue light that appeared glowed like the Sun. That thing had to be eliminated before it could create any more monstrosities pronto! Rayne traversed over the small body of water that separated her and the biomass and she turned on her Blood Rage just as her feet touched the ground. Another newborn spider joined its recently born comrade and the two ganged up on Rayne but they were at a major disadvantage. Since Rayne was in Blood Rage mode, she was now and unstoppable killing machine and her blood lust wouldn't cease until every living thing had its life's blood splattered across the grass and all cries of pain had stopped.

Rayne made short work of these newborn beasts, cutting up their tender bodies like lunchmeat at a deli. The creatures didn't even have the opportunity to scream. With them dead, Rayne turned her attention towards the biomass and as if on cue, it began to quake again like jell-o. Just as another spider monster peaked its head out into the humid Louisiana air, Rayne blew its head off with a shotgun and then she began to lay waste to the biomass. Bright scarlet blood poured out of the gashes that Rayne made with Malebranche and soon, huge masses of skin were carved off, revealing the internal organs of the nest.

Deep in the cavernous, blood dripping darkness of the of the quivering nest's chest cavity, Rayne could detect a beating heart. Without hesitation, Rayne stepped into the gory mire of gore and blood and she promptly stabbed the heart. The biomass stopped moving and all that was heard were the sounds of the frogs and crickets. As Rayne exited, she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Rayne are you alright?"

It was Mynce. Rayne looked up to see her mentor standing on top of the wall facing the mausoleum. Rayne smirked.

"Yeah I'm fine Mynce. Everything is okay except for the fact that I am dripping with that thing's blood."

"Hmm… you are. I can smell it from here… Strange creatures aren't they?"

"Strange doesn't even begin to cover it." Rayne said.

Mynce jumped from the wall and she twirled towards the small piece of land that Rayne was on. After landing, Mynce walked up to Rayne and she brushed her finger against a coagulated drop of blood that was on Rayne's cheek. She licked her finger and Mynce had a quizzical expression on her face.

"This is human blood."

"Human?" Rayne said.

"Yes…" Mynce walked past Rayne and went towards the destroyed nest.

"This is quite strange. I don't think that any of the books that I have read at the church have mentioned this…"

"What did the books say?" Rayne asked.

Mynce turned to her.

"Well at first, nothing much really. But in one of them I found a note addressed to the pastor that mentioned a secret passageway under the pulpit. I managed to find it by removing the bible."

"Cool, what was down there?" Rayne asked.

"Besides cobwebs, there were more books and a preserved body of those spider creatures that you just fought. Apparently it was a leftover from the very first attack that this town had experienced in it's history."

"When was that?"

"1723."

Mynce proceeded to tell Rayne what she learned about Mortton's past from the books found in the secret chamber under the church.

"Long before the French came to this state, two Native American tribes lived in this area, the Creek and the *****Choctaw. These particular bands were at constant war with each other and there didn't seem to be any end to the bloodshed. However, a romance blossomed between two people who were from the opposite tribe, quite similar to Romeo and Juliet actually. A Creek man fell in love with Mantema, the daughter of the Choctaw chieftain.

The two would sneak out of their villages at night to be with each other at a secret meeting spot. However, a truce was eventually made between the two tribes and to cement the peace, the Choctaw chieftain married Mantema off to the son of the Creek chief. The Creek man who loved Mantema despaired, believing he could never be with his lover ever again. But as luck would have it, Mantema's husband was apparently a very heavy sleeper and she snuck out to meet her lover. Mantema eventually got pregnant and she delivered a healthy baby boy, much to the joy of her husband and year later, an equally healthy baby girl came into the world.

But these children were not conceived by Mantema's husband, but by her lover. At first, everything was fine until the boy reached his fifth year. Mantema's husband began to notice how his "son" did not look like him and he consulted his tribe's shaman about this. In a trance, the shaman saw Mantema's secret affair with the Creek man. Upon hearing this information, Mantema's husband flew into a rage. He found his wife's lover and he killed him on the spot.

Before he could turn his wrath on his adulterous wife, he discovered that she had fled with her children. The man summoned his warriors and they went after Mantema. They managed to chase Mantema to a massive swamp. Mantema sadly decided to end her and her children's lives rather than suffer whatever punishment her husband wanted to put her through. As the young mother walked into the swamp, she uttered her last words:

_ "This night would have been my lover's thirtieth year and on this night, the spirits of my children and I shall be released from our worldly bodies. Every thirtieth year, this land will be covered in malaise and wrath. My children and I will have our vengeance…"_

With those final words, Mantema and her children disappeared under the water. To placate her spirit, the tribes treated the swampland as sacred ground and were sure to avoid it every thirtieth year. However, when the French settlers who founded Mortton came, they ignored the warnings of the native tribes. The French saw them as Godless heathens and that their warnings were mere pagan talk."

"Of course they would ignore them." Rayne thought, "Pompous assholes…"

"Years passed and Mortton grew into a quiet farming town. This all changed one night in 1723. That night, as the Morttonites slept, Mantema emerged from the swamp; her hatred and grief had transformed her into a hideous demonic beast. Upon discovering her swamp being desecrated by the people of Mortton, Mantema flew into a furious rage. The townsfolk were awakened by her angry roars and they soon discovered that were under attack by the monster's "children".

During the onslaught, a man named Jacque Beauregard led the remaining townspeople against the creatures and they drove them back into the swamp. The people celebrated their victory and Jacque became a celebrated hero. However, this would not be the only attack and for the next thirty years to follow, the Mottonites had to prepare themselves. Thirty years gave them plenty of time to get ready, but sometimes the swarm's strength would have been far stronger than expected and the town would be decimated. 1873 was chronicled as the worst attack ever and the townspeople built this wall to protect themselves…"

"Quite the story but it seems like they built that wall for nothing." Rayne said, "So you're telling me that this whole plague is basically an old Indian curse? You'd think these people would have left after the first attack."

Mynce just shrugged.

"Who knows why they didn't. Maybe they didn't want anyone else to suffer or they were too attached to their home. But anyways, it seems things got even worse this time around. Also, Rayne, have you noticed anymore of those sludge mounds like the one at the church?"

"Yeah I have. What are they?"

"Humans, what's left of them anyway…" Rayne nodded, she knew that part anyway.

"The spider creatures regurgitate what they eat."

"Strange doesn't even begin to cover it…" Rayne said in response once again with more emphasis.

"H..h..hello?"

A quivering Southern accented voice pierced the gentle chorus of the bayou fauna and it landed onto the ears of Rayne and Mynce. It sounded like it was coming from the mausoleum. Alerted to the presence of a possible survivor, Mynce and Rayne headed quickly towards the structure. Mynce knocked on the door.

"Hello? Whoever is in here are you alright?"

"Y-y-yesss…." A frightened voice answered back, "A..ar…are the Maraisreque gone?"

"The what?" Rayne asked confused.

"Maraisreque is French for "swamp monster". That's what the Creole call the spider creatures."

"Are they gone!?" the voice asked again in a sharper, fear toned voice.

"Yes they are gone. Now open the door please."

The door slowly creaked open but was soon flung back by a man wearing dirt stained clothes and smelled strongly of sweat and cheap booze.

"Mon Dieu, le Diable!" the man shouted when he saw the get up and appearances of Rayne and Mynce. (French for My God, the Devil!)

"What the hell did he just say?" Rayne asked but her question was ignored.

"So much for greeting the rescue team. Who are you?" Mynce asked in a stern tone.

M…my name is Jean Sigmund, I'm the gravedigger." Jean said as eased closer to the doorway.

"Alright Jean, my name is Mynce and my colleague here is Rayne. Now, what can you tell us about these creatures and the disease that has been afflicting your town."

Jean opened his mouth slightly and he looked into space. After he found the right words to say he spoke.

"I dun know… I was home asleep when I heard my neighbors screamin and then gunshots. Next thing I know, I'm runnin like a bat out of hell with the Maraisreque hot on my tail…" Jean shivered at the memory, "I just managed to reach this mausoleum and lock myself in. Those monsters couldn't get in because of the stone, Praise the Lord. They can't get in without those holes that they burrow through. But they did try to come through the door..."

The mausoleum door, come to think of it, had several gashes and puncture marks on it. It was apparently made of iron so that was why it kept the gravedigger safe.

"Do you know if anyone else escaped?" Mynce asked. Jean shook his head.

"Je ne sais pa (French for I don't know)… I did see my neighbors runnin the other way, but for all I know they could've all been eaten or drowned thanks to the flood…"

Jean looked down at his feet with a sad expression on his face. Rayne and Mynce both felt sorry for him. Mynce spoke.

"I'm very sorry to hear that Jean but right now you can't leave yet. You'll have to stay here for now."

"Quoi!?" (French for why) Why aren't we leavin?"

"Because we have been sent here to eradicate the disease and rescue any survivors. Keep faith Jean, you will be alright."

Mynce turned to Rayne.

"Rayne. I am going to stay here and protect the mausoleum. You are going investigate the town to find and destroy and anymore of those biomasses. They are apparently the carriers of the disease and don't forget to kill any monster and find any survivors that you see. Do you understand?"

"Yeah I do. But what will I do with them?"

"You can send them here…" Jean spoke up and both women turned to face him. "Tell em to come to the Tremain Family Mausoleum. This is the only safe place left in all of Mortton…"

"And there you have it. Thank you Jean."

The man nodded.

"Your welcome."

He then closed the door. Rayne turned to leave but Mynce stopped her.

"Wait, before you go Rayne. I have something for you. Hold out your wrist."

Rayne did as told and she held out her left hand and Mynce pulled a bracelet like object from her belt and she snapped it on Rayne. The bracelet had a wheel that was wrapped in links of chain and facing outward was a hook.

"That is a harpoon. Just a sharp flick of the wrist and it shoots out like an arrow towards your target and you can reel them in like a good catch. Observe…"

Mynce turned her attention towards a Mutate that was lumbering towards the mausoleum, dripping wet and draped with aquatic plant life. Mynce walked down the stairs, stopped suddenly and she flung out her left wrist. A shining line of chain shot out and the harpoon embedded itself into the Mutate's chest at a range of seventeen feet. Mynce pulled back hard and the Mutate came soaring like a falcon. She kicked him down and then Mynce pinned him and proceeded to drink his blood.

The creature stopped its frantic kicking and finally died after the last drop of its blood was drunk. Mynce jumped off and she wiped her mouth with her forearm.

"And there you have it Rayne. You can snag prey off of roofs and from great distances without having walk through water. This should make it easier for you to complete your mission."

"Wow, thanks a bunch!" Rayne said.

She was very excited to use her new toy.

"One more thing…" Mynce pulled something out of her back pocket. It was a piece of paper torn from a book. It had the faded title saying the "Dairy of a Confederate Girl" on it but that wasn't what Mynce wanted Rayne to see. Scribbled over the faded text was a crudely drawn map of Mortton.

"I know my artistic ability is rather lacking but I did my best to copy from a picture I saw in a book in the church. Use your Aura Sense to find survivors and biomasses. Good luck Rayne, I know you do well."

"Thanks. I'll get going now."

Rayne took off. As she landed on the area where she destroyed the biomass. Rayne saw a Mutate standing up to its shoulders in the water across from her. Seeing an opportunity to utilize her harpoon, Rayne went after the monster. With a flick of her wrist, the harpoon flew out and hooked the Mutate.

Rayne pulled back and she subdued the monster and began to drink his blood. The blood was thick with salt and had a sour aftertaste but it rejuvenated Rayne and made her stronger. She got up after she was done and she went towards a door that was by the biomass. It was time to head directly into town. The soft clinking of *****spirit catching jars resounded softly from the branches of a tree that they were tied too.

What would await Rayne now?

* * *

***= The reason why the gravestones are raised is because the lower regions Louisiana are below sea level and thus the ground is to wet to bury a body.  
**

***= Prior to the famous Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, there were the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I. Just thought that would be an interesting bit of trivia there. :) **

***= If you look more closely at the trees in the Sanctuary level in the game by the wall, you will see some glass jars hanging on the tree branches. According to voodoo belief or just general superstition, the colorful glass of the jars would attract evil spirits and they would become trapped in the vessels. This is similar to a dream catcher. **

**I thought it would be a nice twist to have some infected animals in the story too. Livens it up a bit. I've got more surprises in the next chapter. Anyway, thank you for reading, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and _please review! :) _**


	7. Chapter 6: Abbatoir

**Hey everyone, here is another chapter for my story! By the way, the name of this chapter is French for "slaughterhouse". Thought it was kind of fitting for what is coming up. Anyway, please enjoy! :) **

_**Author's**__** Note: **__**Blood, gore and some profanity ahead**_

* * *

_**Mortton, Ghetto**_

"Ribbit ribbit!" a frog croaked.

Rayne looked down and she saw the amphibian to her right looking up at her. It looked as big as a baseball but still kind of cute, but there was something quite unique about it. The frog had a thick white stripe that stretched from the back of its head and all the way down its spine, but the most distinctive feature were the frog's eyes. They were a brilliant bright blue and even though Rayne wasn't an expert on amphibians, she was pretty sure frogs didn't normally possess that eye color. Rayne knelt down to pick it up to have a closer look but the frog turned around and hopped off into the water.

Not too concerned, Rayne turned to examine the area. All across the horizon Rayne could only see brown, water and dead trees. However, just ahead of her was a partially submerged truck and it looked like it could be reached with one good jump. Her hypothesis proved to be correct and Rayne landed safely with a loud thump on the roof of the waterlogged vehicle and from there she leaped over onto small island that had survived the flooding. A row of four long, slender houses came into view, along with telephone poles, wires, lampposts and of course, monsters.

Rayne watched as one Diseased man inched closer towards the water with his head down, probably staring at his own reflection on the still surface. As he stared, something dark green, grey and red shot out abruptly from the water and it clamped down on the man's head. Rayne's worst fear was confirmed, there were infected alligators prowling their now much expanded territory. The Diseased struggled and flailed his arms in the air, shooting off rounds from its gun but this was all for naught as the alligator kept a firm hold on his head and it dragged the Diseased into the water to be eaten alive. Soon giant splashes sent waves of water crashing in all directions; the alligator was performing a death roll on its prey to kill it.

The gator stopped after its prey was completely still and a halo of blood began to slowly form around it. Another alligator joined it and soon the two began to partake in their grim feast. Rayne tread slowly and jumped over to another exposed island of land. But as soon as she landed, a Maraisreque popped out of the ground like a prairie dog. Rayne sliced off its front legs and then its head in quick succession.

As the creature's corpse fell, a Tentacle Mutate made its way towards Rayne. A direct blast from a shotgun blew off the upper torso of the monster, sending its mutilated body parts flying into the water. Rayne saw movement at the corner of her eye and she turned to right and she fired at the source. Instead of an alligator, it was a snake, a water moccasin it looked like. The two infected alligators were more concerned with their current meal and didn't seem to notice what was going on. Relieved, Rayne turned her attention towards the houses.

Her Aura Sense showed that only three of them had anything worth investigating, but Rayne decided to go into the house in front of her, the only one without a blue light, regardless. If she was going to clear the town of monsters, she might as well be thorough. The distance to the house was short but she had to cross through the water and the house looked like it was flooded. Rayne felt that she had enough stamina and endurance to withstand the burns that she was going to get because of this. She took a deep breath and ran.

The water, cool to normal human touch, burned as if it was boiling and it caused Rayne to clench her teeth fiercely and her legs to feel as if they were set on fire. She sailed past the entrance, a Maraisreque burst through the window and it chased Rayne into a room where she jumped onto a torn couch to recover. To her luck, the Maraisreque had trouble fitting through the door. To add to her good fortune, on the couch between her spread out feet, was a gun, a machine gun to be exact.

Rayne picked up her new weapon with glee. She was going to have fun with this. A cracking noise brought Rayne's attention towards the door and she saw the spider monster pushing against the doorframe. The wall, weak from humidity and poor construction material began to crumble from the pressure that the monster was exerting. Rayne aimed her new gun at the Maraisreque and fired, each bullet causing a fountain of yellow blood to spurt from every corner of its body.

The firepower was too much and the Maraisreque died, crumpling into the water, its yellow blood staining the surface as if it were spilled paint. Moving on, Rayne used the creature's corpse as a landing from the couch and she continued her painful journey through the flood. Along the way, she found a Winchester rifle on a bed frame behind an overturned mattress in the adjacent room and in the kitchen; she found dynamite and a box of matches. Another Maraisreque appeared from behind a dilapidated wall but Rayne just shot at it from atop the icebox where the TNT was located. Vacating the premises, Rayne jumped up onto the roof, happy to be out of the flooded house.

The neighboring house was bigger, it had two stories and this one had a blue light in Rayne's Aura Sense, so something important was in there. A warm, flickering glow permeated the window in the very front of the house where the blue light had pinpointed. It looked like candlelight. Rayne saw movement in the opposite windows. Running alongside the roof, Rayne jumped up and broke through the glass, startling the Mutates that were gathered in there.

"Uuuahhhhh!"

The monsters congregated to attack but Rayne went into Blood Rage mode and she diced them all up. As the severed limbs fell around her, a Diseased woman ran from the room behind Rayne with her afflicted hands outstretched, intent on strangling her target. Rayne just simply spun around and decapitated the monster. As the carnage settled, Rayne heard what sounded like chanting coming from the candlelit room across from her. Rayne slowly made her way towards the room, the chanting growing louder with each step.

Inside was a strange sight. In front of an old, antique couch, was a middle-aged African-American woman with light brown skin, greying black hair that was tied in a long braid that hung on her right shoulder, a large, beautiful multicolored bead necklace, and she wore a vibrant red dress with a yellow sash and white bordering on the hems. But it wasn't the outfit that had caught Rayne's attention; it was what the woman was doing. She was sitting cross-legged in the center of some strange arcane symbol made out of chalk and was ringed with candles. The woman seemed to be deep in a trance, as her eyes were shut tightly and she chanted in some obscure language in a steady rhythm.

Rayne walked up to her and just at the perimeter of the chalk symbol, she knelt over and snapped her fingers in the woman's face to test this trance. The sharp sound did nothing and the woman continued with her incantation. Just as Rayne straightened herself, a Diseased man kicked down the rotted section of the wall. This startled Rayne and her right foot slid unconsciously through the chalk. The breaking of this symbol also seemed to affect the woman's hypnotic state as she stopped chanting.

"What… What is dis?" she said in a heavily Creole accented voice, "Who broke my veve?"

When she saw Rayne and the Diseased man, she shrieked but Rayne made quick work of the monster by slicing off both his arms and then his head. After she was done, Rayne turned to the woman.

"Are you alright ma'am?"

The woman was taken aback at first but she responded after a moment.

"Oui, (French for yes), I am. But who are you?'

Rayne retracted Malebranche.

"My name doesn't matter, but what does is that you should get to the Famillie Tremain Mausoleum. It is the only safe place left in town."

"I see... Is dere anyone else dere too?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, the gravedigger Jean and my friend. She is guarding the place."

The woman let out a loud laugh.

"Ha! Jean's dere uh? Figured as much… Man can run like the best of dem when trouble is afoot. Even while drunk he only thinks to save his own hide…"

Rayne didn't share the same viewpoint. She thought it was pretty understandable to be that scared of these creatures. If she were a normal human, she would have been scared shitless too…

"Yeah… but anyway, ma'am, what is this symbol you were sitting on?"

"The name is Kazi child and this is a veve, a sigil used to summon the loa, which are voodoo gods and spirits. I was trying to summon a protective loa to help guide me and keep me safe..."

"So you're a voodoo practitioner?"

"Yes child I am. Been since I was a wee girl. I used to make medicine for the sick and cast spells to help de crops grow before all of dis…"

"Cool… But Kazi… Do you by chance know how to stop this outbreak completely?"

Kazi suddenly froze and her subtle wrinkles crinkled up on her brow in an angry frown.

"Oh yes…" her voice was dripping with anger, "That bitch Marassa… When I git me hands on her, I will make her eat her magic…"

"Who?" Rayne asked, Kazi seemed to be talking only to herself now.

"Marassa! She was my protégé and she fancies herself *****Marie Laveau voodoo priestess."

"And she is responsible for this?"

"Oui! She hooked up de old German who came into town over a month ago… Scary man, evil…"

Kazi whispered those last three words in an ominous tone. Rayne would have to investigate that later, but right now, she had to eliminate the biomasses, find other survivors and now, kill the rogue voodoo priestess Marassa.

"Where can I find Marassa?" Rayne asked.

"You can find her at the Ship Graveyard. She went there with the German to perform black magic. She said that she wanted to summon the Mother of the Underworld."

"Mother of the Underworld? Is that a loa?"

"No… it is the spirit of Mantema. She is…"

"Yeah I know that story. Well Marassa sounds like one attractive lady. But anyway, you should get going before more monsters show up."

"Oui, I will."

And with that, Kazi took off running. Rayne shouted after her.

"Oh and be careful of alligators and snakes."

Rayne heard a faint thank you emanate through the old floorboards and disappear out of the house. Aura Sense revealed that there was nothing else of note in the house and Rayne exited through a window. She landed on the roof of the house she first went into and she leaped onto a long tract of exposed land. Gunshots came flying towards her from a Diseased and as he ran up to her, a Maraisreq emerged from the ground. Unlike the ones that Rayne had fought before, this one was bigger, had thick, bumpy red skin and large fangs.

The red Maraisreq pounced on the Diseased and it began to bite at his head trying to eat it. With a firm a grip hold on the man's head, the Maraisreq tilted its head and sucked the man into its gullet, causing it to bulge considerably. The monster let out a loud burp and it charged Rayne. She slashed at its legs but the strike was a mere glancing blow. To protect herself from its fangs, Rayne put Malebranche in front of her to keep the fangs at bay.

As the two struggled, Rayne dug one foot into the ground and she used the other one to kick back the Maraisreq. With it pushed back, Rayne jumped backward, took out the machine gun and she emptied the magazine into the monster. Tossing the steaming and now useless weapon into the water, causing it to sizzle, Rayne went towards the next house and thankfully, this one and its neighbor were built on hills and were thus not flooded. To her right Rayne saw the soggy, mauled chunky remnants of the Diseased man she saw get eaten by the two infected alligators floating listlessly in the shallows. Wishing to avoid the same fate, Rayne jumped up onto some telephone wires and began to run towards the next house.

Three Diseased people stood guard at the front of the house, one being a woman sitting on a porch swing rocking it and the other two, a man and a woman, in the front yard. The two in the yard had guns and the woman on the porch swing had a big kitchen knife on her lap. Rayne took out a pistol to snipe the woman on the swing and just as she aligned the barrel, something happened. A loud splash came from the water and a monster jumped onto the Diseased woman, crushing her. Rayne turned to see that it was a Mutate dressed in the soaked tatters of a dress. It was female and it had frog like attributes.

Her legs were splayed out like one, she was pale, wet and boney like a famine victim except for her engorged stomach, her fingers and toes were bloody and had webs between them with sharp, claw like nails and creepily enough, her mouth was stretched all the way down her neck and when she opened her mouth, Rayne saw rows of tiny razor sharp teeth and a long pink tongue dripping with saliva. The Diseased on the porch suddenly got up and ran into the yard with her knife and she began to furiously stab the Frog Mutate while her male counterpart began to shoot at it. The Diseased being crushed by the Frog struggled and shot aimlessly into the air as her companions tried to help free her. In retaliation, the Frog Mutate shot out her tongue towards the male Diseased, ensnaring his gun and throwing it aside before she wrapped her tongue around his neck and crushed the air right out of him. With him dead, she used her claws to disembowel the female Diseased who was stabbing her viciously.

The Diseased stopped stabbing to grab her spilling innards and to finish the job, the Mutate used her tongue to snare her enemy's neck and she threw her into the water. As soon as she splashed, Rayne saw alligators coming to partake in another meal. With those interruptions gone, the Frog Mutate turned to the struggling Diseased under her feet. She grabbed both sides of the Diseased woman's face and with a one fierce, swift movement, the Mutate broke her neck with a loud snap. With the Mutate distracted, Rayne jumped onto the front yard.

Just as the Mutate began to put her food head first into her mouth, Rayne shot her in the head from a distance. The shot dazed the Mutate but it didn't kill her. She dropped her meal to attack Rayne. She shot out her tongue to ensnare Rayne but she cut it off before it could wrap itself around her neck.

"Hraaaaaahhhhh!" the monster screamed.

The Frog Mutate retracted the bleeding remnants of her tongue back into her mouth and she arched back and then leaped towards Rayne, hoping to crush her. Rayne did a sidestep jump to avoid the attack and she began to unload more bullets into the creature as soon as it landed. Already wounded before the bullets, the extra injuries slowed the monster down and Rayne took this opportunity to slip her blade into the Mutate's eye and through her brain. Convulsions followed and the Mutate's huge mouth opened, blood from the wounded tongue pouring out like a waterfall. Rayne removed her blade and the Mutate fell with a thump.

With that done, Rayne proceeded to the house, now even more wary of the water than ever before. The door was barricaded from the inside, so she had to find another way in. When Rayne rounded the houses left, she found a weak spot in the wall and so she jumped up and did a spiral kick into it. The rotten wood gave way without resistance and Rayne found herself in the living room. Just like the other houses she had been in, this house had torn furniture, water stained photos and paintings, gas lamps and the occasional light bulb hanging from the ceiling, mold stained wallpaper and rugs with crumbs embedded in their weaving like jewels on a crown.

Rayne saw that a chest of drawers was used to barricade the front and door and she turned on her Aura Sense. Her next objective was just down the hall, but that too was barricaded with furniture and whatnot so Rayne went through the bedroom. Above the bed was a portrait of General Robert E. Lee, the celebrated general of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Down here in the South, the Civil War was still a source of debate and pride even after it had ended sixty-eight years ago. And instead of being the called the Civil War, some Southerners preferred to call it the War Between the States or the most common name among the more patriotic Dixieland natives, the War of Northern Aggression.

Rayne, wandered if the former occupant here prayed for General Lee to help Mortton along with Jesus during the outbreak. But anyway, back to business. Rayne kicked down another weak wall and she proceeded through the next room and she came into the kitchen to find another nest. Unlike the open spaces of the graveyard, Rayne was going to have to fight this thing in the closed cramped space of the kitchen. The nest shook, the vertical slit appeared and soon a Maraisreq shot out. The kitchen was going to get crowded really fast and it was time for Rayne to do some crowd control.

Rayne shot the Maraisreq in the face and she entered Blood Rage mode and she began to lay into the nest. It didn't stand a chance and soon the nest was reduced to a pile of torn flesh and bloody gashes. Now it was time for the other house and Rayne exited the back door. Sadly there was no more dry land behind the houses and Rayne had to jump onto the roof and then onto the back steps of the next house. As soon as she entered this one, a Maraisreq jumped out of a hole in the wall, knocking over a neat pile of canned goods that were stacked on an icebox onto the floor.

It lunged its head towards Rayne and its fangs scratched her. In return, Rayne jammed Malebranche into the monster's mouth and she cut upward, slicing its head in half. With that deed done, Rayne activated Aura Sense and found that her next objective was just a few feet ahead. Just like the other house, the hallway was blocked and but there was also a weak spot in the wall in the adjacent room. Kicking it down revealed another survivor cowering under a bed.

"Ah! Please don't kill me!" said the man in a terrified Southern accented voice.

"Its okay, I'm not going to hurt you." Rayne said. "You can come out from under there."

The man edged himself out from his hiding place. He had a beer belly and he wore only a worn pair of overalls whose left strap was undone. Rayne smelled an old musty scent and she saw that there was large drying, dark spot between the man's legs and inner thighs. The man had peed himself sometime in the past. With these circumstances, who could blame him?

It was still funny though.

"Who-o are you?" he asked nervously.

"Someone that's here to help you. Now please go to the Tremain Famillie Mausoleum. You'll be safe there. There are other survivors and my friend is protecting it."

The man looked at her with a hopeful glance.

"R-really? Who else is there?"

"The gravedigger and a woman named Kazi."

At the mere mention of her name, the man suddenly became irate, startling Rayne.

"Kazi! Its her fault that this has happened! She should have drowned that witch the moment she was born!" the man said with much vitriol.

Rayne was confused.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Marassa! She is a witch and a blue-eyed she-demon! Kazi should have killed her when she was born because her sister didn't have the goddamned common sense to abort her when she had the chance!"

His words were cruel and so unexpected that Rayne was taken aback. After her initial shock had worn off, Rayne spoke to the man again.

"Okay… You mentioned that Kazi had a sister. Are Kazi and Marassa aunt and niece?"

The man's anger had receded and his timid, gentle self returned as if nothing had happened.

"Yes they are. They live together in Kazi's hut by the swamp. That witch has been practicing voodoo since she could walk. Her mama died some time ago. Murdered by the Ku Klux Klan I think… Anyway, I will go now. Merci…" (French for thank you)

The man took off, leaving Rayne a little dazed from that conversation. It appeared that the name Marassa left a bitter taste in everyone's mouths whenever it was mentioned and it was also pretty convenient of Kazi to leave out the fact that Marassa was her niece too. But whatever, it was time to get out of here. All of the nests and possible survivors had been found in this area and Rayne had to move on to other places. With her goal set, Rayne left.

Just as she reached the front door, a Maraisreq came into the house through the rotten floorboards and it surprised Rayne, giving it the opportunity to push her out of the house with brutal force. Rayne corrected herself mid-air and she landed just a few feet away from the houses front porch. Besides the Maraisreq, Mutates and a few Diseased began to show up. It was quite the showdown; a dozen or so monsters versus Rayne. What would the results of this imminent bloodbath be exactly?

Blood Rage awoke deep within Rayne, her eyes began to glow crimson and Malebranche was brought forth. Very soon these monsters were going to meet their maker…

A Tentacle Mutate came towards Rayne with its mutated arm outstretched high along with a Frog Mutate, who licked her cheek clean with her lethal tongue. The two got closer and closer. Something caught the corner of Rayne's eye and a gigantic whip like appendage suddenly shot out of the water and it curved in midair like an anglers line and it crashed into the house, nearly taking off the roof. There was another tentacle and the two anchored themselves into the ground. Something was using these to pull itself out of the water.

Rayne and her assembled company stared in shock at what had emerged from the water. It was giant blue catfish, the size of two city buses to be exact. Its smooth, dark-blue scaled body was decorated with crisscrossing black veins and its front flippers curved from its torso to hold its massive body up along with help from the tentacles. Those tentacles were in fact the fish's whiskers and there were more of them, ranging from small to big, wreathing its huge mouth. The catfish's red eyes glowed and soon it let out a low, deep growl.

Without warning, the fish slammed its cavernous mouth onto the ground, enclosing three Maraisreq, one Diseased and two Mutates into its maw and it dragged them back into the water with it. All was quiet except for the chirping of summer peepers.

"Did I just see that?" Asked herself. "Did I just see a giant catfish eat some monsters? If so, I am totally fucked…"

Even the monsters were at a loss for words. Rayne recovered her thoughts quickly and she resumed Blood Rage. After cutting up her enemies until they were quivering piles of mincemeat, Rayne used her Aura Sense to find her next path. A blue light pointed down past the first house she entered. Taking out Mynce's map, Rayne found that the next location would be the town hall.

"Hoot, hoot"

Rayne looked to see a great horned owl roosting on a tree branch behind her. It was a beautiful, the owl was covered in snow white feathers and it had two bright blue eyes. The whole color scheme didn't seem to make sense to Rayne though, just like that frog from earlier… But regardless, Rayne had a job to do and she couldn't worry about color of this nocturnal bird. She ran down the strip of earth as soon as dry land gave way to water, she jumped onto the telephone wires. With infected alligators and now a giant catfish, Rayne's mission had become much more dangerous as well as interesting.

She hoped that the giant catfish wouldn't jump up and snag her from the wires. After all, from underwater, Rayne looked like a colorful fishing lure. As Rayne disappeared into the horizon, a figure in white watched her from afar.

The figure, a woman, smiled evilly and then disappeared without a trace.

* * *

***= A famous voodoo priestess from New Orleans from the late 18th to the mid 19th century. She is considered to be the most powerful voodoo practitioner and many modern day voodoo worshipers visit her grave to leave candles, draw X's with bricks and even leave pastries to invoke her favor. She lived to be a hundred and was said to look young even at that age. One thing I remember about her was when she helped a man who had a son that was convicted of rape. Sometime before the trial was set to begin, Marie had the man sprinkle chili peppers under the chairs of the jury, the reason being that the chilis would make the jury find the son not guilty. It worked. **

**What did you guys think of the giant catfish? I thought that since this takes place in Louisiana, why not? Catfish is a part of their diet and they go "noodleing" for them too. Thanks for reading and _please review! :)_  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Voodoo

**Here's another chapter folks. Christmas is getting closer, is everyone excited? ****Please enjoy! :)  
**

**Author's Note:****Blood, gore and some profanity ahead.**

* * *

_**Town Hall **_

Storm clouds moved slowly on the horizon, hovering threateningly below the full moon that graced the night sky. Thunder rumbled like a gurgling stomach and a few stray bolts of lighting appeared in the distance. Rayne hoped that the storm would go away because if it rained, she would be unable to complete her mission without getting roasted either by lighting or the rainfall. The telephone wires held the dhampir's weight as she made her way across from the ghetto to what appeared to be a warehouse. Rayne's Aura sense revealed that something of note was inside there.

"Having a nice night?" a voice called out.

Rayne came to a full stop and she looked around for the speaker.

"Down here."

Rayne looked down and she saw a woman who looked slightly older than herself who was quite literally standing on the surface of the water. This woman had an unearthly air about her. She wore a pure white dress, her black hair was finely brushed and it had a silky quality to it, she was also African-American, or at least part of one because her skin-color was extremely light. But the most unique feature of the woman was her eyes. They were a bright blue, just like the ones that the frog and owl that Rayne had seen earlier had…

"Who are you?" Rayne asked, mesmerized by this woman.

"You should know that by now Rayne." The woman said in a mocking voice.

Rayne was shocked.

"How do you know my name?" She asked startled. The woman laughed.

"I know many things Rayne. My eyes see everything that goes on in this town. I have been keeping an eye on you. Did you have a nice chat with my aunt?"

"Aunt?" Then it clicked.

"So you're Marassa?"

"Correct ma cherie!" (French for my dear) Marassa said and she clapped to applaud Rayne for guessing correctly.

"I do hope you didn't believe everything that old hag said. My dear aunt Kazi is an awfully jealous woman who can't stand the idea that she is being replaced by someone who is more skilled than her."

Rayne recalled the conversation she had with Kazi.

"I don't think so dear," Rayne said with sarcasm, "She sounded more angry and than jealous of your abilities."

"Anger and jealousy often mix together." Marassa said. "As for you, it seems that pleasure and death intertwine on a common basis."

"What the hell does that mean?" Rayne asked sharply. How dare this woman insult her!

"What I mean dear is that you take joy in causing harm. I've watched you and I have seen it all. How you cut up those creatures without pity or discrimination. The look in your eyes when you cut open a stomach or severe a head… it is the look of a predator enjoying the torment it is inflicting on its prey."

"Yeah so! They're monsters and I am not a predator!" Rayne was so angry she nearly fell of the wire. As she regained her balance, Marassa continued with her self-righteous speech.

"Don't kid yourself cher… You know what you are. You are only half human and you can't help it when your demon half craves blood."

"Where have been getting this? How do you know about me being a dhampir?" Rayne asked incredulously.

"Like I said dear, I have been watching you…"

Marassa's body suddenly glowed white and her body changed shape. In her place was the frog with the white stripe on its back and the blue eyes. She croaked as if to laugh at Rayne's surprised face. She turned white again and this time an owl appeared in midair flapping its wings. It was the same owl from the Ghetto!

That's how she knew everything about Rayne, she had been flying or hopping around her and Mynce and they were none the wiser. With a hoot, the owl was covered in light and Marassa reappeared. She looked up at Rayne with an arrogant smirk. Marassa certainly had a great deal of power. Besides being able to walk on water, she could transform into animals.

If she could do that, what else could she do?

"You seem scared Rayne…"

Rayne just stared angrily at her and she placed her hand on the handle of a gun she had.

"No… I am not." She said angrily. Marassa sneered at her. She then placed her hands behind her back and she began to take a few steps around the water and it rippled with each footfall.

"You know Rayne… You and I are very much alike."

"How so bitch?"

"Well for starters, we are both halflings. My father is white and my mother was black, his maid actually, and you have one parent that is a vampire and the other is human. And we are both unwanted by society. Vampires look down on the impure and the humans are terrified of the monster and both sides want the other segregated from themselves, just like here. It is unthinkable for anyone to want to join those halves. Why, that is one of the worst of sins…"

Marassa's arrogant attitude waned and she looked towards the moon. Something in those blue eyes sparkled; it was both happiness and anger. She looked towards Rayne again.

"Nineteen years ago, one such sin was committed and tonight, the man who caused it shall know my fury..."

And with that, Marassa turned and she began to walk away into the distance.

"Hey!" Rayne shouted and she fired at the woman.

The bullets had no effect on her. It was like she was a ghost. Marassa laughed.

"I am afraid that this is not my corporeal body. This is an astral projection. We shall meet in the flesh soon however. Until then Rayne, au revoir. (French for good-bye)"

And with that, Marassa disappeared. Rayne was at a loss for words. After all of the bizarre things she had seen, Marassa took the cake. Who was she judge on who was a monster? After all, she apparently summoned the Maraisreq and caused a plague in her own hometown for no reason at all at the moment.

Why was she doing all of this? And when she mentioned a man that had committed a sin nineteen years before, could she be referring to her father? She did mention that he was white but why would she destroy her home and kill its citizens? Maybe the answer lied somewhere in the town hall, which was beyond the warehouse. But first, Rayne had to visit the latter.

Rayne forced the incident with Marassa into the back of her mind so she could focus on the current objective.

"No wonder why she's called a witch and a demon." Rayne thought to herself.

Marassa's cryptic and supercilious demeanor were heightened by those sky blue eyes of hers. Not just that, but her entire being seemed to emanate negative waves of energy towards anyone who could feel them. With those last thoughts, Rayne pushed them back and proceeded forward. As she climbed over the rusted, corrugated iron roof of the building, Rayne heard sharp hissing and growling coming from below. A pack of infected bobcats were tearing into a Tentacle Mutate and he was fighting back as hard as he could.

He swung one off and the animal hit the ground hard but it bounded right back up and pounced again. Also down below were two metal drums used to store oil and two power lines that were anchored below the water. Rayne jumped off the roof and onto to one of those wires. Steeling herself for a brief dip into the water, Rayne plunged right in and barged through the doors. She scared a Diseased woman who was guarding a stairwell that had several wooden pallets and crates stacked into one corner of the raised landing.

Rayne was too fast for the woman to draw her gun and Rayne pounced on her, interlocking her legs around the woman's waist like a vice and she bit the monster's neck. The woman backed up unsteadily, her steps growing unsure and lethargic with each liter of blood drained and soon she fell with Rayne releasing the woman's waist. Taking the pistol that the Diseased had, Rayne leaped into the water again. With pain coursing through her legs and up into her abdomen, Rayne proceeded into the next area. Bursting through the doors, Rayne saw the nest at the far corner of the room.

Before Rayne could go straight for it, a red Maraisreq emerged from the water and a yellow one came from the nest and both went right towards her with deadly intent. Rayne back flipped onto some crates and she used her harpoon to pull herself onto an overhanging light to avoid the creatures. Disappointed that their prey had gotten away, the Maraisreq tried to jump out of the water to get Rayne to no avail. When that didn't work, the red and yellow Maraisreq turned on each other. With those two fighting, Rayne began to pull herself up from the base of the lamp.

With superhuman balance, she managed to straighten her feet on the small lamp head with one hand behind her head holding the wire. She jumped off the lamp and onto the metal veranda in front of her with a thump. With the lamp swinging, Rayne went towards the railing to analyze the area that the nest was in. In the corner adjacent to it, there was a stack of pallets placed on top of some oil drums but that was it. Putting her hands on her hips, Rayne felt the answer to her predicament.

The dynamite she got from the ghetto should work. With a stick of dynamite and a lit match from the matchbox she got too, Rayne lit the TNT. As the wick sizzled towards its imminent destruction, Rayne tossed over towards the nest. The dynamite landed right on top of it and soon the wick hit the red stick. An explosion and a burst of flame shook the warehouse.

The nest was still there but it was hemorrhaging blood from multiple wounds and had lacerated, burned flesh hanging like vines from its destroyed top. Rayne was about to light another one when a Frog Mutate suddenly appeared by Rayne's side, knocking her down, causing the stick of dynamite to fall from her hand and into the water below. Rayne kicked the monster in the face but then an explosion shook and it destroyed a metal support beam for the landing. Rayne kicked the monster in the face, her stiletto blade jabbing the creature in the forehead. Undeterred, the Mutate charged again with its mouth wide open but Rayne caught both sides of its lips.

The Mutate's tongue wrapped around Rayne's neck but before she could strangle Rayne, she tore off the top the creature's head off as easily as removing a lid from a jar. The tongue slid off but Rayne had no time to rest. A swarm of yellow Maraisreq came stampeding up the stairs and Rayne jumped off of the landing and onto the pallets in the corner. As soon as she did however, a swarm of yellow Maraisreq came charging towards her. Thinking quickly, Rayne vaulted off the pallets and she grabbed an iron pillar and she held on with all her might.

Taking out one of her pistols, Rayne fired one shot into the oil drums under the pallets that the spider monsters were now congregated on. The resulting fireball seared Rayne's skin with its intense heat and it seemed to affect the nest too but it was far from helpless yet. It kept birthing more Maraisreq and they in turn began to suck up water in their mouths and they spat it into the raging inferno. With them distracted, Rayne jumped onto the landing again and she vaulted over the railing and onto the nest itself. In its gaping wound, Rayne could see its beating heart.

Hooking it with her harpoon, Rayne back flipped back onto the landing and she pulled back as hard as she could on the chain. The heart remained steadfast in its fleshly holdings but its resistance was starting to give the harder Rayne pulled. Soon, with enough strength, the heart was torn out and it came flying towards Rayne and it promptly smacked her square in the nose.

"Oof!"

Rayne fell backward and the still pulsing organ slid down onto her collarbone. Rayne's nose burned from pain and personal embarrassment.

"Ow, shit! That hurt!" she thought to herself. Rayne touched her nose and although it hurt, she could tell that it wasn't broken. It would probably leave a bruise then but who knew? Snorting out some blood she had inhaled when the heart collided with her face, Rayne got up. The Maraisreq who were trying to put out the fire had gone and had left the fire to continue burning after seeing their nest was destroyed.

It was becoming more difficult to breathe inside. The burning oil sent thick, black clouds of noxious smoke up into the ceiling and it was sucking in the air. Besides the smoke, a dense humidity was forming from the evaporating water and the microscopic moisture caused a tingling feeling on Rayne's skin. It was time to leave and Rayne exited the warehouse. Outside a full out monster brawl was going on.

The Maraisreq who fled the warehouse were now fighting the infected bobcats. The Maraisreq devoured the bobcats whole while packs of them would gang up on a Maraisreq and tear into them with their claws and teeth. Rayne intervened with Blood Rage and she managed to kill them all without obtaining a single scratch or getting bitten by any of the monsters. Something heavy landed on Rayne's shoulders and sharp claws dug firmly into her flesh. It was an infected bobcat but before it could bite into Rayne's scalp, she tore it off and she shot with the last bullet she had in her pistol.

In fact, Rayne's firearm arsenal was nearly depleted. She needed to find more guns. Aura Sense revealed that the town hall was the next destination and Rayne began to look for an entrance. When Rayne found the front, along other monsters whom she promptly killed along the way, she discovered to her frustration that it was locked from the inside. She wanted to kick it down, but what if there was another nest in there?

If it heard Rayne coming in, it would start mass-producing Maraisreq without end. There had to be another way in. Rounding the corner, Rayne looked up to see a second story window that was all boarded up. The wooden boards were haphazardly nailed together and it looked like they could be easily knocked down. Rayne jumped up and she kicked down the barricade that crumbled in a flurry of splinters.

Rayne had landed inside what appeared to be a courtroom. A Diseased man began shooting at her and Rayne charged him with her head and back down, Malebranche extended. As soon as she got close, Rayne sliced outward, cutting the Diseased in half at the waist. The lower torso stood on its own for awhile before it eventually fell. Maraisreq crashed through the ceiling and smashed the benches beneath them before they bounded over towards Rayne.

Rayne sidestepped them and she landed on the judges pulpit which had a full body portrait of George Washington behind the red leather and brass button judge'schair. One Maraisreq leaped at Rayne with its fangs bared but Rayne bent over backwards and she held Malebranche out like flags, which in turn sliced off all four legs of the spider monster. The now limbless creature crashed its peanut shaped body onto the waxed floor and it writhed and screamed in pain as a puddle of yellow blood formed around it. The other monster began to back up fearfully after watching its comrade become a quadruple amputee; Rayne stood up and leered at it. She extended her left wrist and with one flick, the harpoon went sailing towards the creature and Rayne hauled it in and struck it with a roundhouse kick, sending the Maraisreq crashing into a pillar and then out the window with a loud thump and resounding cry of pain.

Rayne dismounted and she went towards the adjacent hall. As she got closer, Rayne heard low, labored breathing and she walked more softly towards the door. Her Aura Sense showed a Diseased standing by the bannister, completely unaware of the bloodbath that had just occurred in the courtroom. Rayne snuck up to him and she swung out Malebranche, slicing diagonally.

"Guhh?"

The Diseased man just stood there, even as a fine dark red line of blood formed on his torso and his left arm fell off. The blood poured down in strands and soon his upper torso slid off. Rayne felt proud about her accomplishment and she cleaned her filthy swords on the wooden bannisters as the painted occupants of the giant portraits depicting Civil War battles looked on. A painting of a Native American chief stood above the landing that stood between two flights of stairs, looking nonchalant amidst the carnage. It was pretty funny, Rayne thought.

All of this could have been avoided if the first white settlers weren't so stubborn and bigoted, but what was done was done. Taking the hunting rifle from the Diseased man, Rayne went down the left flight of stairs and where another Diseased waited for her. He shot at her, but Rayne shot back with the rifle, blowing him clear away onto the landing of the other stairs with a loud thump. More Maraisreq appeared from the ceiling but Rayne made quick of them with her blades, slicing them and dicing them like meat. Wood and plaster exploded as another Maraisreq burst through from another room, followed by a Diseased woman with a rifle.

Rayne decapitated the former and she cut the latter vertically in half. With that rigmarole done, Rayne used Aura Sense and she found that her target was in the opposite room. She tried the door but it was locked, however there was a large crack on the wall beside it and Rayne kicked it down, revealing a jail cell. Besides a neatly made bunk bed, table, chair, sink and toilet, the cell was pretty sparse except for some graffiti that was carved into the plaster by former inmates. A surprised shout came from the other room and a middle-aged man came bounding in with a gun.

"Hiyah! Die you ugly son of a bitch!" he shouted, aiming his gun at Rayne. The man was a deputy because he had a brass star shaped badge that was on his left breast pocket with the word deputy engraved on it. His white shirt and brown pants were stained with blood and he wore a light green tie and fedora. His frightened demeanor changed when he saw that Rayne wasn't a monster, but a very attractive young lady.

"Oh, uh… Hi there." The man said in a quiet, smitten tone.

"Easy with that thing…" Rayne said nonchalantly. "And who are you calling ugly."

"Excuse moi! I… ahhh… I didn't mean too…"

"Save it. Just go to the Famillie Tremain Mausoleum. You will be safe there."

The man chuckled.

"Well I don't think so. You see, I got it pretty good here. I have all the guns I need and…"

"And it will be a matter of time until those things find a way in here. I did, and what if your ammo runs out?"

The man looked liked as if he was just punched in the stomach.

"Well… you got a point there."

"Good, now take your gun and go. The gravedigger, Kazi and some other man are at the mausoleum too"

The mention of the word gravedigger perked the man's interest.

"Gravedigger? Jean's alive, my brother-in-law!" the man looked hopeful.

"Was his wife with him? Her name is Kathleen and she's my little sister."

Rayne felt something drop inside of her. Jean was alone in the mausoleum.

"No, I'm afraid not… Jean didn't have his wife with him…"

The man's face fell.

"Ah damn…"

Rayne thought he was going to cry but he brought his head up and saw that none falling although she could see them well up.

"Well, I'll still go anyway… Who knows… maybe she's hiding somewhere… Excuse my manners. Adieu mademoiselle."

The man turned to leave.

"Hold on Mr.…" Rayne called out to him.

"That would be Deputy Gorham cher." The man said.

"Deputy Gorham, how about unlocking this thing?" Rayne said matter-of-factly in regards to the locked cell door.

"Oh!" the Gorham exclaimed.

He unhooked a ring of keys from his belt and he unlocked the cell door, which opened with a loud creak.

"Oui, bein sue! Sorry, so sorry! Well I better get goin. Adieu, mon cher…" (French for goodbye, my dear)

Deputy Gorham took off, leaving Rayne feeling unimpressed by his affections.

But that was quickly remedied by the full gun cabinet in the deputy's office and Rayne soon helped herself to the guns and even some dynamite she found in the drawers beneath the cabinet. She cocked an A5 shotgun, pleased by the sound of it and she took what appeared to be an army pistol from World War I on the desk. On the cork board above the desk were two flyers. One was for a fishing contest and another was for an emergency town meeting in regards to the outbreak.

The first one read:

"_Calling all fishing enthusiasts! For one week on May 15__th__ to the 19__th__, there will be a fishing contest at Mortton to see who can catch legendary "Big Jacque", the giant catfish of Mortton! Nobody has been able to catch him yet but whoever does will be awarded a $300 cash prize and will have their name engraved on the Wall of Fame at the Town Hall! Prizes will be given out to those who do catch big fish however. Food and refreshments will be made available."_

"Big Jacque?", Rayne thought. Could that have been the giant catfish she saw earlier in the ghetto? He was living quite true to his name even more so now. The next flyer talked about the town meeting:

"_Mayor Thompson will be holding an emergency meeting in regards to the recent outbreak that has struck Mortton at the Town Hall on the 20__th__ of June at 11am. All able-bodied civilians should attend. The health inspector from_ _*****_Baton_ Rouge will be there to discuss the disease, where he believed it came from and how to treat it. If you have a family member or loved one who is ill, please come!" _

"Too bad the disease was more closer to home than they thought." Rayne said to herslef, or so she believed.

The voice that said that line wasn't hers… it was Marassa's! Rayne spun around to see a glimmer of white pass by the open door and she ran after it. Lighting struck the water not too far from the town hall and its crackling was accompanied by the laughter of Marassa. Rayne used her Aura Sense to see if she could find Marassa or at least where she could be. A blue light pulsed in the distance over the water.

Rayne ran towards it direction and according to Mynce's map, the next place to go was the Hill District. Just as she reached the telephone poles, an infected alligator crawled out of the water and came towards Rayne with its teeth studded mouth. Rayne jumped over it, turned around midair and she brought her blades down on its head along with her stiletto blades piercing the thick hide of its back. The alligator struggled at first but it soon died as its energy was spent. Rayne was exhausted. Why did every living thing here have to be infected?

Humans, alligators, bobcats and even catfish were her enemies now. But she couldn't turn back now; she had to keep moving forward. After swatting away an annoying mosquito, Rayne jumped up onto the telephone wires and headed towards the Hill. Marassa watched as Rayne disappeared off into the distance. A Diseased man aimed his gun at her and Marassa simply held her hand out, closed her eyes and she began to slowly close her fingers.

The Diseased man froze and his hand went up to his chest, his breathing reduced to a noise that sounded as shallow as a breeze blowing under a door. Marassa's "grip" on the infected man's heart got tighter and tighter until he finally keeled over dead. Marassa opened her eyes, quite obviously pleased with herself. But now she had urgent business to attend to. Business in regards to her father…

* * *

***= The capital of Louisiana. You'd think New Orleans would be but its not. **

**Marassa, despite being responsible for the outbreak in Mortton, never shows up in the game. I decided to make her appear in my story though. You'll learn more about her in the next chapter. What do you guys think of her? And now you know the name of the catfish Mutate, "Big Jacque". I promise you the Hill portion will be short and I will get to the Beauregard House right away. Thank you for reading and _please review! :)_  
**


	9. Chapter 8: A Family Affair

**Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Here is another chapter. Please enjoy! :)**

**Author's Note:****Blood, gore, profanity and desecration of a religious item.**

* * *

_**The Hill and the Beauregard House**_

The houses at the Hill were considerably larger than the ones Rayne saw at the Ghetto. These must have been the houses where the more well-to-do white population of Mortton resided. The best part to this was that there was no water. This overjoyed Rayne and she made her way towards the first house she saw. It was a slow crawl to eliminate every infected person and animal she could find, but Rayne persevered and she made it to the last house where the nest was on the second floor.

To her amazement, she saw how the biomasses were made. Masses of Maraisreq were gathered around what appeared to be the skeletonized remains of one of their own that was splayed out on the corner of a wall like some macabre ornament. On the wall and floor, the monsters began to belch out a slurry of flesh and blood and using their front legs, they "kneaded" the foul stuff into a plate of sorts and would stick it on the other flesh plates to form the nest's skin. No doubt the foul substance was created from the human victims of the Maraisreq. It was freaky, especially when the nest began to come to life.

Rayne wasted no time and after dispatching that biomass and the spider creatures, Rayne proceeded towards the penultimate area of her mission via telephone wire again, the Beauregard House. The Beauregard's were the most prestigious family in all of Mortton, specifically because they were descended from Jacque Beauregard, the man who saved Mortton from the first Maraisreq attack in 1723. As Rayne got a glimpse of the house, she saw how it matched their prominence. It was a crude mansion that had a garage, an elevated breezeway and a stonewall surrounding the house with iron spikes on the top to discourage intruders but apparently not the infected kind. Rayne could see Diseased people and Mutates lumbering about the premises.

A Tentacle Mutate was fighting two Maraisreq in the water in front of a telephone pole. Lighting a fuse, Rayne threw a stick of dynamite at their direction. The explosion sent body parts and blood flying like shrapnel. As Rayne got closer to the house, a Frog Mutate jumped out of the water by a telephone pole. She landed on the surprised Rayne, her weight crushing Rayne while the water dripping from the creature's skin burned her.

Rayne was stronger than the monster however and even with her arm being firmly held by her clawed hand, Rayne got it loose and she jammed her blade into the side of the Mutate's neck. Hoping to reach the jugular, Rayne cut downward and she removed the blade. Blood sprayed out and the Mutate fell over, her hand covering her wound in a vain attempt to stop the blood loss.

"BANG!"

A bullet was fired and it would have been a direct hit to Rayne's head if it weren't for the metal rings she had on her hair that held the ribbons. The bullet ricocheted off of them and Rayne turned to see that it was from a Diseased woman with a rifle. Pumped with adrenaline from her good luck, Rayne got up and ran towards the Diseased woman and she chopped her up into bits. Gunshots came streaming from the house from two Diseased men. Rayne jumped over the stonewall and she ran beside the house so she could sneak up on the Diseased.

From under a lamppost, Rayne used her Aura Sense and she saw that one of the Diseased on the breezeway. Lighting a stick of dynamite, Rayne chucked it over the railing and it landed right behind the oblivious Diseased.

"BOOM!"

The explosion blew a chunk out of the breezeway as well as obliterate the Diseased man that was there. When the other Diseased came to investigate, Rayne jumped through the hole created by the explosion and she cut the man to bits. As the mangled corpse began to cool, Rayne went towards the door that he was guarding. She turned the doorknob only to find that it was locked. Disappointed she turned around and went towards another door that was on the breezeway.

Unlike the other one, this door was open and Rayne let herself inside. A long hallway led to a small bedroom that contained three beds. This must have been the servant's quarters and their personal affects were still there in pristine condition. A black and white photograph of a young girl dressed in her Sunday best on a nightstand, a leather bound tome with the words "Holy Bible" engraved on it in gold ink and a gardening magazine all denoted to the personalities of the former inhabitants. The most interesting thing in the room however, was a crate full dynamite and guns.

Happily helping herself to more weapons, Rayne was oblivious to the Tentacle Mutate that was inching its way down the hall towards her. Just as Rayne was wiping off a grease smudge from a revolver, she saw the reflection of the monster behind her and she ducked out of his way when he raised his mutated arm. Rayne shot at the Mutate with her new weapons and it finally went down. Before she could even rest her gun, a Maraisreq shot out of the wall. To close for her shoot, Rayne instead grabbed the bible from its nightstand and she bludgeoned the creature until the book's corners began to drip with blood.

Annoyed, the Maraisreq grabbed the holy book in its mouth and tore it out of Rayne's hands and chucked it towards a wall. However, because of that distraction, Rayne had time to retract Malebranche and she sliced off the creature's head. Glossy pieces of paper stuck out from the pages of the desecrated Bible and it made Rayne curious. Pulling one silky smooth page out revealed that it was a pornographic photograph of a woman in a pose that exposed all of her natural "goods" to the lusting eyes of the gazer. All the other pictures that were studded in the pages of the Bible were of equal smutty content.

Rayne thought it was both funny and ironic how the man who owned these used, of all things, a Bible to hide his "indecent" wants. On the outside, people must've thought he was a man seeking the light of God's Word but inwardly; he was seeking the pleasures of the flesh. Rayne smirked, laughing to herself about the comedy surrounding this, she left the room. Lightning struck the grass behind the wall and the sound of thunder rumbled closer. Rayne went down the stairs by the breezeway and she tried two other doors and even tried to lift the garage door but nothing worked.

She walked around the house looking for another entrance, but none could be found. Even the windows were impassable due to being barred with iron. Something fell on Rayne's shoulder and it burned slightly. Rayne touched the spot and she discovered that it was moist. It was water.

Soon the scattered sounds of raindrops hitting grass and stone began to fill Rayne's ears.

"Oh shit!" Rayne said aloud.

The rain was falling sparingly, but soon these few raindrops would turn into a deluge. She had to find a way inside before she met a horrific end. But where could she go? Rayne ran up behind the breezeway again and she looked around for any signs of a weak wall or rusted iron bars that she could pull apart to get in. The squeaking of a bat drew Rayne's attention towards the smoking chimney.

Rayne realized that she had just found her way in. The frequency of the rainfall grew and Rayne made haste towards the chimney. Rayne jumped up on the breezeway and then the roof and without a moment to lose, she jumped down the chimney through the thick smoke. Rayne crash-landed feet first onto the glowing, cracked and scaled firewood, sending up confetti like sparks. Coughing through the smoke and heat, Rayne saw a weak spot in the brickwork and she kicked it down.

Exiting through a cloud of dust and smoke, Rayne was relieved to be out of the rain. But that was short lived when a hail of bullets began to rain down upon her. Three Diseased people were in the room, two men and one woman. The Diseased woman was firing at Rayne by a pool table with one of the Diseased man while the other shot at Rayne by a chair. With no time to lose, Rayne plunged headfirst into the foray.

First she sprinted towards the two by the pool table. One quick scissor like slash from Malebranche decapitated the woman, cutting off her shoulders as well as her head and cutting the man deeply on his right arm. Before the man could react, Rayne got behind him and she stabbed him in the back of his head and back. Using him as human shield, Rayne walked him in front of her as the other Diseased man continued firing. Realizing that she was close after peeking around the side of her corpse shield, Rayne pinned the Diseased against the wall with its dead counterpart and with great strength, Rayne pushed her blades right through the skull and abdomen of the cadaver and they pierced the pinned Diseased.

After she was done, Rayne threw off the corpse and she saw the Diseased man had slid down the wall, leaving a thick trail of blood on the wallpaper. He was still alive, the blade had missed his head by a half inch, but Rayne put an end to that with a quick thrust of metal into his skull. Turning on Aura Sense revealed that there were two points of interest in the house. One was upstairs and the other was down below. The bottom was the closest so Rayne headed there.

Another Diseased woman was in the hallway. Unlike the previous one's that Rayne had encountered so far, this one was African-American. She was wearing a maids outfit that was stained with blood and had many rips and tears on it. She had a pair of scissors in her hand and the minute she saw Rayne, she came running towards with the scissors held up high. Rayne yawned loudly as she sidestepped the charging woman while holding out her foot.

The woman tripped and fell onto the black and white floor tiles, splattering blood from her open, plagued wounds. Rayne stomped on her back, her stiletto heel puncturing the woman's spine. Another stiletto to the base of the skull put an end to the creature's life. Inside the next room was a Tentacle Mutate and then a Maraisreq who charged in from the door leading to outside. Rayne entered into Blood Rage mode and she cut them all up in less than a second.

The blue light seen in Rayne's Aura Sense showed that the next target was under the next room. The room was a very pretty bathroom. It had an old-fashioned toilet, clean sink, mirror and bathtub with a very ornate Chinese folding screen for the bather's privacy. On the rim of the tub was a smudge of dried blood and below it was a small puddle of it on the floor along with a blood caked straight razor. Maybe somebody must have committed suicide here and their body was eaten by a Maraisreq or something.

Speaking of which, as Rayne walked farther into the room, a Maraisreq crashed through under the floor, shattering the toilet and busting open the pipes, sending a dangerous white spray of water shooting up into the ceiling.

"Oh fucking fantastic!" Rayne growled.

The Maraisreq leaped forward with fangs bared, letting out a screeching hiss. Rayne got onto her knees and she slashed her blades upward, cutting open the monster's stomach. The creature spent its final moments writhing in pain until Rayne took it out of its misery and she shot it in the head. Next to the bathroom was a small room with tool chests and other miscellaneous items of no particular note and an elevator.

"That's cool." Rayne thought.

She had never seen a house with an indoor elevator before. The Professor's manor didn't even have one. Professor Trumain was claustrophobic and he didn't want to tear down sections of his house and reroute hundreds of electrical wires just for that. Rayne pulled down on the lever but nothing happened. Rayne opened a door on a small metal box to find that the battery was dead.

"Great, gotta find another one…"

Rayne could fix this, no problem. She remembered back in the first spring she spent at the Trumain manor how Geoffrey, the Professor's chauffeur was fixing the car in the garage. The battery had died and so he was replacing it with a new one.

"This is how you connect a battery lass." The Scottish man took some red and blue wires, the red were positive while the blue ones were negative. He held up the red wires. "Positive goes on positive and negative goes on negative." He said.

Geoffrey attached the wires to their correct spots.

"What happens if you place the wires on the opposite side?" Rayne remembered asking him. Geoffrey laughed.

"Well if you do that lass… The whole bloody car will blow up like a bomb!"

With that bit of knowledge tucked into her brain, along with Geoffrey's fading laughter, Rayne began to search through the tool chests and the piles of junk but she couldn't find anything resembling a battery. Deciding to risk the rain to get into the garage, Rayne sucked in her breath and she ran straight outside through the rooms. Ignoring the alarming fog of steam and pain that was enveloping her body, Rayne made it to the door and she got in. Feeling like a boiled lobster, she staggered through another hallway, this time filled with oil drums and tires. A Tentacle Mutate was inside looking into the car that was parked inside, but he wasn't the source of Rayne's interest.

It was the battery that was located by some oil drums.

"Ahh a battery…"

Before she left with it, Rayne shot out her harpoon and nabbed the Mutate and she pulled him in for a quick meal. After draining his blood, Rayne gingerly picked up the battery as if it were a baby and she headed out into the rain. Bending down, she bounded back into the elevator room again.

"Positive on positive, negative on negative…" Rayne said to herself aloud. She placed the yellow and green wires on their prospective ports and thankfully nothing happened. She tried the lever again and the elevator sprung to life. As it descended, Rayne heard a sound similar to water lapping up against something. Lower down, Rayne saw to her dismay that the basement was flooded in what appeared to be waist deep water.

"Ugh! It had to be a flooded basement didn't it!" Rayne snarled.

A nest was at the far corner of the room by a boiler and to add to her woes, the nest began to produce Maraisreq. Before the elevator was submerged, Rayne jumped onto some crates that were floating nearby and she quickly lit a stick of dynamite and hurled it at the boiler. A deafening explosion shook the room, leaving Rayne and the Maraisreq dazed. A smoldering crater where the boiler was filtered out the water, making it a bit safer for Rayne to kill the nest. Blood Rage made quick work of the Maraireq and the biomass.

Now it was time for the target upstairs… The ascension on the elevator proved invigorating for Rayne as she knew that her mission was steadily heading towards the end. Returning to the pool room, Rayne headed towards the staircase in the opposite doorway. Another Tentacle Mutate was loitering in front of a couch with a giant portrait of a man in full Confederate uniform. Cutting him in half vertically from the waist up, Rayne walked through a pool of blood and up the staircase.

Upstairs was a beautiful dining room with lit candles, dead flower centerpieces and lace doilies. A Diseased African-American man in a butler suit with a hammer stood in the corner. He smiled dimly at Rayne before he attacked her with the hammer, only to lose his arm before he could even strike her. His last view of life was the bloody stump of his arm before Rayne cut him in half at the waist. Glass shards scattered into the air and landed on the floor as Maraisreq made their way through after apparently destroying the iron bars.

Just like the butler, these creatures were also destroyed in a simple manner, leaving puddles of foul smelling yellow blood staining the floor. Machine gun bullets struck through the wall, sending chips of plaster and dust flying in the air. Rayne ducked down as the bullets continued their onslaught. When the bullets stopped, Rayne ran outside and she attacked the female Diseased as she reloaded the machine gun. After, slicing the woman diagonally in half, Rayne happily tossed away her A5 shotgun for the machine gun before proceeding towards a door.

Aura Sense showed that the next target was in that room but the door wouldn't budge. Rayne tried the other one and she found what appeared to be a bedroom. A large crack scarred the wall cutting off the next room and Rayne jumped up and kicked it down, revealing a kitchen and two people inside of it. A middle age man in plaid shirt pointed a rifle at Rayne while a green shirted adolescent girl stayed close behind him, most likely his daughter.

"Daddy!" the girl cried out in terror.

"Whoa easy there!" Rayne called out with her hands up. "I'm not a monster, I'm here to help."

The man lowered his weapon hesitantly. When he saw that Rayne wasn't going to take advantage of his lowered guard, he called over to his daughter.

"Its okay mon petite." The girl got closer to her father and he put his arm around her and he turned to Rayne.

"Who are you?"

"Her name is Rayne."

A familiar voice spoke and Rayne and the survivors turned to see the kitchen door unlocking itself and a Diseased man with Rayne's A5 shotgun pointed right at her and right behind him was a familiar face.

Marassa.

"Hello again Rayne. I hope I didn't steal your thunder." Marassa said with a pearly smile.

"You didn't." Rayne grumbled.

Ignoring her, Marassa turned her blue gaze upon the father and daughter. Her cheery look hardened and she smiled bitterly towards the two of them.

"Good evening Mr. Beauregard and Miss Rachel." Marassa said, each greeting by bowing her head with her left hand on her heart. Marassa suddenly leered at them.

"Or should I say, good evening… father... and half-sister."

Mr. Beauregard stiffened while his daughter gasped in shock.

"W-w-what do you mean Marassa?" Rachel stammered. She turned to her father.

"Daddy, what does she mean by all of this?"

Mr. Beauregard just stood there unable to speak or move. He just stared at Marassa. Come to think of it, Rayne noticed how Mr. Beauregard and Marassa shared the same light blue eye color. She remembered how that man back in the Ghetto mentioned a Pierre Beauregard and his affair with a black woman. Marassa's speech about a sin being committed nineteen years ago came to mind as well.

"My God no…" Pierre said and Marassa laughed.

"You forgot all about me didn't you father?" Marassa became bitter. "Of course you did. You forgot me and my mother."

"N-n-no, I-I didn't forget about Penny… I thought about you Marassa. I really did, honest…"

"OH SHUT UP!" Marassa shouted, startling Rayne and company.

"Don't you even get me started with that sappy crap! You're just trying to save your own miserable skin!"

Marassa panted with rage and she continued her tirade.

"Nineteen years ago, in the spring of 1914, I was born, conceived from the one night you spent with my mother. She lost her job when your mother found out and it was next to impossible for her to get any decent source of income thanks to her pulling the strings with every possible employer in town…"

"G-grandma would never do that…" Rachel said tentatively. This only resulted in another outburst by Marassa.

"Well you're not the product of an interracial couple so you wouldn't know!" she spat.

She cleared her throat after calming down and resumed.

"My mother had to leave me in the care of my aunt when I was six so she could work in New Orleans. She never came back and I learned later on that the Ku Klux Klan had killed her. A prominent white judge had blamed her for "tempting" him and giving him syphilis, so the Klan went after her. They dragged my mother from her bed and they beat upon and defiled her. They lynched her from a telephone pole, and finally… the Klan tied her body to a rock and threw her into Lake Pontchartrain as if she were nothing more than garbage…"

Marassa ranted this all out in a quiet rage filled voice. Everybody was left stunned. Marassa wiped her tear filled eyes.

"She died… because of you."

Marassa pointed an accusing finger towards a shaken Pierre.

"You couldn't keep your hands off of her and to rub it in, you never helped her when she got pregnant… Not once."

Pierre, still in a state of shock, began to edge closer to his oldest and long forgotten child. With his hands up in a calming gesture and to show that he meant no harm, he tried to speak to Marassa.

"Now cher, I tried help your mother. I really did. My mother wouldn't let me though. She threatened to cut me off without a cent if I so much as gave your mother a dollar. I…"

Marassa shook her head in frustration.

"I get it. You cared more for your money."

She wasn't finished.

"You got married and you had Rachel."

"Marassa… I…"

Without warning, Marassa tore the shotgun out from the hands of the Diseased man and she shot Pierre point blank range in the chest. Pierre fell like a stack of cards as his daughter screamed.

"D-daddy…." Rachel cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rayne tried to attack the patricidal priestess but Marassa held up her left hand. She closed it into a fist and she pulled back as if yanking on a rope and Rayne's legs suddenly stopped working and she fell onto the floor in shock. Marassa, her pure white dress now stained with the blood and gore of her own father, walked up and pointed the gun at Rachel. Rayne watched helplessly as the girl begged her older half-sister to spare her. Marassa hesitated, her finger on the trigger.

After what felt like an eternity, Marassa lowered the barrel from Rachel's head with a look of pity on her face.

"I'll let you go… Enough lives have been sacrificed for my ritual to work. I guess you will be the exception…"

Marassa turned and walked away. She handed the gun back to the Diseased man. She looked towards Rachel again, her pity replaced with a leer.

"That is… unless he doesn't shoot you first!"

Marassa took her exit and the Diseased man raised his gun towards the emotionally traumatized Rachel. Rayne realized that whatever spell Marassa had put on her legs had been lifted and she quickly got on her feet. She sprinted towards him and she grabbed the monster's arms and lifted them up just as he let a shot fire into the ceiling.

"Go to the Tremain Famille Mausoleum now! GO!" Rayne commanded Rachel. The distraught girl got on to her feet and she ran past the two struggling bodies. Rayne kicked the man in the groin and he let go of the gun so his hands could cup his injured organ. Rayne turned the gun's barrel on the monsters and she blew him away, sending him flying out the door and into the hallway. Everything was now perfectly quiet.

Rayne cocked the gun and she turned to give a sympathetic look at Pierre's corpse. She didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or not. He didn't deserved to get killed but on the other hand he should have kept his pants on around his maids. But it was too late for that by nineteen years. A shrill scream echoed into Rayne's ears and it sounded like it came from outside the house.

Aura Sense showed that the source of the scream came from the northwest direction of Rayne. She ran outside, thankfully the rain had stopped falling since it was just a brief summer storm, she jumped over the breezeway and ran towards a dock. Rachel was there getting dragged across the wooden planks by the tongue of a Frog Mutate. The solution to Rachel's predicament was a gunshot to the creature's face. Rachel hurriedly tore off the tongue and she jumped into a boat that was tied off there.

"Hey aren't you forgetting something?" Rayne asked Rachel.

The girl looked up confused and shaken. Rayne held up a pistol and she tossed it to Rachel who just barely caught it in her shaking, sweating hands.

"T-t-thank you Miss… Thank you so much!"

Rachel sat down, retrieved the oar that was lying at the bottom of the boat and she began to furiously paddle away. Rayne took a minute to gather her thoughts in the cool, rain washed air. From what she had just learned, Marassa mentioned that "enough people had been sacrificed" for some ritual. Was this plague created by Marassa? Could that ritual have something to do with summoning the Mother of the Underworld?

So many questions, but Rayne felt that the answers were close. She turned on her Aura Sense and she saw that the next nest location was just down water. It was at the Colonial Power Plant. Rayne would have to take the electrical wire attached to the lamppost on the dock. Her mission was almost over.

However she would still have to kill Marassa. Maybe after Rayne had destroyed the final nest, she and Mynce could somehow escort the survivors out of Mortton and they could go after the mad voodoo priestess. She remembered Kazi saying that Marassa was at the ship graveyard. But first, the nest had to be eliminated. So without further adieu, Rayne jumped onto the wire and she began to run off towards the power plant.

* * *

**Marassa is the quite the character isn't she? She reminds me of a line said by Jem Finch in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" on how people of mixed race are not wanted by either whites or blacks and how they are in Jem's words, "sad folks" because of it. Thanks for reading, have a good Christmas and ****_please review! :) _**


	10. Chapter 9: Big Shock

**Hiya! A New Year is upon us, can you all believe it? I wander how 2015 will turn out... But now, the story. Rayne's mission is nearing its end, or is it? Please enjoy! :)  
**

**BTW, here is some music to listen to. When you see this symbol, *, that means that's when you should play it.  
**

_***= Shadow Hearts - Battle in Europe (NDE: Near Death Experience) **_

***/= this symbol means that the music ends there.**

**Author's Note:** **Blood, gore and profanity ahead. **

* * *

_**Colonial Power Plant**_

The buzzing of electricity droned on in the distance as Rayne closed in on the power plant. Even after most of the people were gone, the plant was still producing electricity to the town of Mortton. A Diseased man was shooting at a large group of Mutates, three Tentacles and two Frogs. He was making quick work of them thanks to his double-barreled shotgun. Taking advantage of this distraction, Rayne ran up another telephone pole and jumped onto the wire and leapt behind the Diseased man as he was facing his last opponent, a Tentacle Mutate.

After he blew his last foe away, Rayne stabbed him in the back, slicing upward through the spine and cranium with her left blade and she decapitated him with her right. As the man's mutilated corpse crumbled to the ground, Rayne turned her attention towards the power plant. It was a massive brick building sporting two cylindrical chimneys that had smoke pouring out thick as fog. 'Colonial Power' was painted in bright red paint on the front of the building.

Around the building was a simple wooden fence with barbed wire placed on the top and there were signs that said "Warning: High Voltage" on both sides of the entrance. Undeterred, Rayne activated her Aura Sense and she saw that her last target was, quite obviously, inside the building.

"Great!" She said to herself. As soon as it had started, Rayne's first official mission for Brimstone was nearing its end. Strangely enough, she couldn't wait for it to end. Rayne wanted to get out of the thick, humid air where swarms of mosquitoes flew about looking for blood and where pretty much every living creature was out to get her with either guns, teeth or claws. As she neared the building, Rayne saw a fallen ladder.

Curious, she saw with Aura Sense that there were two monsters up on the roof of the building. Deciding to pay them a visit, Rayne got onto some telephone wires and she slaughtered the Tentacle Mutates that were there. Besides the Mutates, there were a few sticks of dynamite too. Maybe the two men who were to become these Mutates fled up here and held out for as long as they could before the infection set in and they became monsters. Collecting the TNT, Rayne jumped from the other side of the building and she began to dispatch every monster she saw with brutal efficiency.

With the monsters outside now gone, Rayne proceeded to go inside the plant. An overpowering scent of blood and rot instantly pierced her nose like a sucker punch. To her right, Rayne found the source of the foul smell. Behind a desk, slouched over a revolving chair was the bloodied and pale corpse of a woman, probably the plant's former secretary. A thick layer of dried blood coated the woman's mouth and there was a massive bloodstain behind her on the wall along with a small crater from a bullet hitting it.

On the woman's lap was a revolver. Wanting another gun, Rayne gingerly removed the weapon from the woman's pale, stiff fingers all the while feeling that the woman's ghostly, turquoise eyes were staring at her even though they were permanently fixed on the wall. It struck Rayne that this was the only corpse she had seen during the entire mission. Why weren't there other corpses? Wouldn't there have been more suicide victims as things got worse here in Mortton?

Maybe the Maraisreq ate them all or they transformed into monsters before they could even take their own lives. The sound of metal ripping brought Rayne's attention to what was behind her and what she saw next were the fangs of a Maraisreq charging towards her. With quick reflexes Rayne managed to kick away the demonic insect right in the face. The creature recovered quickly and it tried to assault Rayne again but she had her blades out for it this time and the creature ended up impaling itself through the mouth on one of them. Retracting Malebranche, Rayne looked to see where her unwanted visitor had come from.

It was a metal air duct which now had a massive hole framed with bent sharp edged metal. But Rayne was more curious on how that thing could have fit through such a narrow space. Her gaze wandered around the room to make sure no one else came in to surprise her. The only thing that stuck out to her were the papers on a billboard resting in front of the wall. From what she had glanced the whole billboard was covered in flyers talking about the town quarantine with topics regarding on how to prevent from getting sick and how to improve on personal hygiene.

Exhibited along with them were doomsday leaflets that advised the citizens of Mortton to pray for the salvation of their immortal souls since this plague was punishment for their sins and that they should repent while they can. Other than that, there was nothing else of note and Rayne continued on with her mission. Inside the main complex Rayne found the nest. Unfortunately, it was on the lower floor surrounded by water and to make it worse, there were streams of electricity flowing through a square perimeter using the steel pillars as conductors. This was quite discouraging.

"Well that's just great…" Rayne grumbled.

Even if she used Blood Rage, the electricity in the water would shock her and do more damage. Remembering the sticks of dynamite she had, an idea popped into Rayne's head. She could throw the TNT at the nest just like she did to the one back at the warehouse. But the nest was too far so first, she had to find a way to lower the water around a large piece of machinery that was by the nest so she could stand on it safely. There had to be something here that could help do that.

Aura Sense showed that what could help Rayne was on the upper mezzanine. Running up the stairs and along the railings of the upper floor, Maraisreq, both yellow and red, began to pop out of air ducts and oil drums and began to sprint after Rayne. Reaching a dead end, Rayne turned to face her opponents. Activating Blood Rage, she cut up all of the creatures and to save her strength, she used the last of the ammo from her A5 shotgun to finish off the few who were still moving. With that done, Rayne turned to a window that was at the dead end.

Breaking in, she startled a Diseased man who was there but one quick diagonal slash caused the man's head, left shoulder and arm to slide off onto the floor. Big, complicated looking machinery stood along the wall of the control room. The red and black dials of gauges shook gently under the glass. Looking closely, Rayne saw exactly what she was looking for. On one of the machines was a lever that had a plaque above it saying: "In case of flooding, pull back lever all the way to the front. The light should turn green and the draining mechanism will engage in five minutes."

Complying with the directions, Rayne pulled back on the lever and a red light by the machine switched to green. A loud rumbling noise began to sound throughout the building. Looking out through the front windows, Rayne saw the water down below starting to recede. However the water didn't go away entirely but the nest was now exposed.

"All well, I guess this will have to do…" Rayne said aloud. "Is there no dry land anymore?"

A shower of glass and bullets crashed into the room and Rayne turned to see a Diseased woman and man shooting at her. Running out to attack them, two Maraisreq burst into the control room behind Rayne. Before she could deal with them, Rayne got to the Diseased first. She sliced off the legs of Diseased woman and she cut the Diseased man vertically in half. As their blood poured around their mangled bodies, Rayne jumped into the damaged control room and she annihilated the two Maraisreq inside.

Now with those annoyances gone, it was time to deal with the nest. Feeling smug and confident, Rayne ran down towards her target. Jumping on the wheel like mechanism near the nest, Rayne smirked as she lit a stick of dynamite.

"One." She said as she threw the first stick.

It sizzled as it fell into the water. A burst of flame and water materialized and it damaged the nest. Rayne lit another one.

"Two!" She said in an excited tone.

Another explosion did the nest in. The final nest had been vanquished. Rayne had completed her first mission for Brimstone.

"Finally! Hallelujah!" Rayne said.

She jumped off the machine and onto the metal mezzanine.

"Time to get back to Mynce and the others." Rayne said and she headed off with a skip in her step.

The humid Louisiana air never felt so good as Rayne exited the plant. There were more Diseased who congregated aimlessly outside. A slight hindrance to her return to Mynce but Rayne didn't care. She was in too much of a good mood. That good mood was shattered however when, as Rayne was running up towards the monsters, a familiar face turned up.

The same giant catfish from the Ghetto emerged from the water. Growling, one of its elongated whiskers whipped out and it wrapped up a Diseased man tightly. As he struggled, the whiskers lifted the man up and hovered him over its mouth. The cavernous hole opened and the whisker let go of the Diseased and the fish swallowed him whole. The other Diseased fired back at the monster but the giant fish eliminated them with its whiskers and its massive mouth by lunging at them with it and dragging them into the water.

"Ah fuck!" Rayne hissed.

Rayne was caught in a quandary. She had to get rid of this giant mutated fish if Mynce, the Mortton survivors and herself were to leave the condemned town in one piece. But on the other hand, Rayne couldn't go anywhere near the water without getting burned and to add to her woes, her guns were running out of ammo. 'Big Jacques' swallowed down the last Diseased and he turned his hungry attention towards Rayne. Even after all he had eaten, Jacques's gluttony seemed to know no bounds and now he was hankering for dhampir flesh.

*****Rayne readied her weapons and she stared at Jacques dead in his huge red eyes. Jacques struck first by lashing out with his right whisker. Rayne evaded the massive, slender appendage, which crashed onto the ground. The left one came flying but Rayne back-flipped over it just in time before it slammed into her. Taking out her guns, Rayne fired at Big Jacques but the bullets only went skin deep through his thick, slimy skin.

Seeing his unprotected left red eye, Rayne aimed at them and fired. An obvious soft spot, blood came out in greater quantities and Big Jacques began to thrash and roar in pain from his wound. The pain was so great that Jacques began to shake his head closer to the ground in a futile attempt to make the pain go away. Taking her chance, Rayne ran towards the giant fish and she activated Blood Rage. Malebranche, powered by Rayne's vampiric muscles, began to slice away Big Jacques's face like it was paper.

A smaller whisker stiffened and tried knock Rayne down but she had a surprise in store. Rayne lifted up her right leg behind her, followed by her left and she circled like a water wheel with her stiletto blades slashing into Big Jacques's face. Despite the attacks, Big Jacques recovered and he managed to pick himself up and he swiped Rayne with one of his front flippers. Rayne dodged him but before she could retaliate, Big Jacques slid himself back into the water and disappeared. Where was he going?

Was it over?

That thought was answered when a tree, broken above the roots and dripping in water, came sailing through the air towards Rayne's direction. Rayne evaded it just as another object, a truck this time, came flying at her. Appears Big Jacques was wisely keeping his distance from his enemy and was attacking her from the comfort of his watery home. Stepping out of its way, the truck crash-landed with a loud bang and Rayne used Aura Sense to see just how far away Big Jacques was. A blue light shone in the distance, but the target was too far away to be struck by either gunfire or dynamite.

What was she going to do? Electricity crackled and sparked from a downed telephone wire from the tree snapping it. Rayne saw the other, much longer piece of fallen wire and an idea was hatched inside her head. The wire reminded her of when she went fishing at the pier at Long Island one summer when she was six. Her grandfather had showed her and her cousin Bentley an alternative to pole fishing by tying a piece of raw chicken to a thin rope and throwing it out into the water and then walking along the shoreline with the rope in hand like walking a dog.

Every now and then you were supposed to pull out the rope and see if you had caught a fish or a crab. Her grandfather had called it trot fishing. Rayne formulated a plan based on this fishing technique. First, she was going to tie a Diseased corpse with the fallen wire without electrocuting herself with it. Second, she was going to throw the corpse out into the water and third, she was going to attract the fish's attention with it and wait for it to take the bait.

If Big Jacques were to swallow the corpse, he would get electrocuted. But it was going to take more than one wire to shock Big Jacques. But on the bright side, he would be closer for Rayne to attack so it was no problem as long as Jacques didn't spit out his snack. Rayne collected a corpse from near the plant and she carried it over towards the fallen wire. Careful not to let the live end of the wire touch her, Rayne dexterously wrapped the Diseased man's body in it and when she was done, she threw it into the water.

The splashing seemed to attract Big Jacques since Rayne saw the giant fin of the fish appear in the distance. Rayne backed up so that Jacques wouldn't see her. Just as she had thought, Big Jacques engulfed the cadaver in its massive mouth. And according to plan, the electricity from the wire began to coarse through his body, causing Big Jacques to pop out of the water, shaking from electrical convulsions. With Big Jacques now within range, Rayne went after him with Blood Rage.

As soon as the blades cut into Big Jacques's skin, a surge of electricity flowed into Rayne's body and even in her enhanced state, she felt the pain of the shock. Her left elbow seized up and her muscles tightened, regardless however, she still had enough self control to pull her blade away since her hand had been locked in a death grip from the volts going through her. Rayne jumped back and she grabbed her shaking arm. She had regained control of the limb again but it still quivered a little, leaving her hand unsteady.

"Shit that hurt!" Rayne said to herself.

Not to be deterred by this, Rayne pulled out a stick of dynamite she had gathered earlier upon her arrival at the plant. With a match, she lit and threw the stick at the fish. It landed beneath him and it exploded, tearing a giant, dark red hole in its gullet. Blood and bile poured out of the hole but the fish still didn't notice, as its seizure was too powerful. Rayne was ready to light another piece of dynamite but Big Jacques suddenly collapsed dead, smoke pouring out of his body and his eyes were white from being heated by the current.

***/**Big Jacques had been effectively fried.

Taking in this moment, Rayne felt that this scene was worthy of some sort of victory quote.

"Now that there is big ole fried catfish!" Rayne said complete with a deep Southern drawl and with both hands on her hips.

Rayne froze for a moment.

"What the hell…? Did I just say that?" she chuckled. "Well that was just fucking stupid…"

Rayne turned towards the direction she first came. It was time to go back to Mynce and the others. After the survivors were taken out of the town by whatever means that could be utilized, Rayne and Mynce would remain to find and kill Marassa. A fitting end to her first mission. As the smell of cooked fish began to reach Rayne's nose, she turned and left to return to the Famille Tremain Masoleum with the news that all nests had been eliminated.

_Meanwhile…_

Water lapped gently against the hulls of old boats, both wooden and metal. On one was Marassa who was sitting on the roof of one with her legs folded in front of her. Before her was a book written in French and illustrated in macabre ink drawings of the loa. The book laid in the center of a veve made out of finely crushed bone powder and it was surrounded by candles in pewter candlesticks. Marassa chanted and performed incantations with feathers, beads and animal parts.

A man watched her from the deck of the boat.

"I've done everything you asked Marassa." The man said in a cold, scratchy voice accented with German. "Now where is my end of the bargain?"

Marassa continued her chanting. The man was undeterred.

"I know you can hear me. Your chanting isn't that loud. So tell me when you will give me my reward so I can get out of this stinking swamp."

Marassa continued on with what she was doing. The man shook his head.

"Damn negroes…" He said to himself.

That caught Marassa's attention and she looked at the man with a haughty look.

"Be calm Monsieur Wulf… You will have what you have been looking for soon. I am just communicating with the soul of the Mother of the Underworld. I am placating her with my magic just long enough so I can get more sacrifices to complete the ritual's preparations. If she can be patient, you too can be patient, Monsieur Jurgen Wulf."

Marassa spoke in a cool yet harsh tone and Jurgen wasn't pleased. Instead of retaliating however, he lit a cigarette and placed it into a black stick embossed with a strange X like symbol painted on a white base and surrounded by red. He grumbled with hesitant approval.

"Very well Marassa. I will take your word for it. But so help me…"

The man's right hand began to extend, the tips of his fingers stretching and sharpening into a blade surrounded by a sinister flame.

"If you fail to deliver on your promise." He pointed his demonic hand towards her. "You will be the next sacrifice for your precious Mother of the Underworld."

Marassa stared nonchalantly at the man. His threat meant nothing to her. Although the woman's cool demeanor infuriated him, Jurgen kept his composure and he "sheathed" his hand with a sigh of defeat.

"Alright, proceed." Jurgen said.

Marassa smiled smugly at him and she went back to her ceremony.

Jurgen meanwhile, hid a sly smile of his own.

* * *

**So what did you think of the battle with Big Jacques? That will be nothing compared to what is coming up later! Thanks for reading, have a great New Year if I don't post anything else and _please review! :)_  
**


	11. Chapter 10: Hour of the Ritual

**The New Year is coming. Are you all excited? I am! I'm ready for a New Year. This will be my last chapter of 2014. Thank you for reading and Happy New Year! :)  
**

**Author's Note:** **Blood, gore and profanity ahead. **

* * *

_**Tremain Famille Mausoleum, Old Town and Ship Graveyard**_

As Rayne returned to the graveyard she saw that Mynce had been busy while she was away. The ground around the mausoleum was littered with the corpses of Diseased people and animals, Mutates and Maraisreq and all of them were in varying degrees of dismemberment. Mynce herself was still standing in the spot where Rayne had last seen her when she left to conduct her mission.

"Hey Mynce I'm back!" Rayne called out to her.

But Mynce didn't say anything. Rayne looked closer and she saw that Mynce's attention was focused on something. At her feet, was a frog.

"Ribbit! Ribbit!" the frog croaked.

Rayne was amused by Mynce's fascination with the amphibian. She probably didn't see frogs that often, especially in the mountains of Tibet. Something about the frog caught Rayne's attention. Even from where she was at, Rayne could see that the frog had bright blue eyes and a long white stripe going down its back. Amusement turned to horror when the revelation hit Rayne.

The frog was Marassa!

"Mynce! Kill that frog!" Rayne shouted as loud as she could.

Startled out of her focus, Mynce looked up at Rayne in surprise.

"Rayne! What…?"

Before she could finish that sentence, a red Maraisreq emerged from the ground right behind Mynce. It opened his mouth and before Mynce could react, it engulfed her head. Mynce screamed and struggled as hard as she could but the Maraisreq overpowered her. It lifted its head up with Mynce's wildly kicking legs and it slowly began to swallow her whole. Rayne ran to help Mynce but then her legs locked up again and she fell, just like she did back at the Beauregard House. She could only watch helplessly as the monster devoured her friend and mentor.

"Mynce!" Rayne cried out in desperation.

Mynce's muffled screams disappeared as she slid further down the creature's throat and soon its belly was swollen with its dinner. Rayne struggled harder and harder but no matter what she did, her legs just would not work. The frog croaked in rapid succession as if it were laughing. A bright light enveloped the amphibian and in its place was Marassa. She leered condescendingly at Rayne, which enraged her further.

"You smug, blue-eyed bitch!" Rayne roared.

Rayne's insult didn't affect Marassa at all. She simply turned around to face the mausoleum and with a gentle wave of her hand, the door opened. As if on cue, a swarm of Maraisreq emerged from the ground and they flooded into the mausoleum. Rayne could hear the screams of the survivors pour out as they were devoured one by one.

"What the-!", Deputy Gorham exclaimed but he was devoured before he could finish that sentence.

"Aaahhhh!", Rachel screamed as a Maraisreq extended its head towards her.

"Dear Lord!", Kazi shrieked as she was pinned in a corner of the room by one of the monsters.

"Oh sweet Jesus help me!", Jean held up a shovel in a futile attempt to protect himself but the creature knocked his weapon away and it grabbed his head.

"G-get away from me!", the Overalls Man said backing away fearfully from the swarm.

Each shriek was like a knife to Rayne's confidence and ears. She thought she could protect the survivors and Mynce but she couldn't thanks to Marassa's voodoo magic. After the last scream faded off, the Maraisreq came tumbling out with swollen bellies that rumbled with the frantic movements of their prey. Led by the monster that ate Mynce, the Maraisreq charged towards the wall and they burst through it as if it were paper. Marassa laughed at the spectacle.

"Well done! At last the final sacrifices have been gathered and finally, I will gain the power of the spirits!"

Marassa looked up towards the starry sky with her hands upraised similar to certain Egyptian wall carvings. She turned her attention towards Rayne and she waved her hand towards her and the invisible restraints vanished from Rayne's legs. Rage laced adrenaline fueled Rayne's body and she jumped up and she ran towards Marassa. She lept up and landed on Marassa with her blades out but as soon as they hit the priestess, they simply went right through her. This garnered another chuckle from Marassa.

"Did you honestly forget that quickly that this is an astral projection of myself Rayne?"

"Then I'll find the real you and when I do, I am going to rip you to fucking pieces you goddamned bitch!" Rayne roared.

"Haha! You amuse me Rayne. You sound like my German acquaintance. You're welcome to try and kill me though."

Marassa disappeared, only to reappear at the hole created by the Maraisreq.

"Come find me at the Boat Graveyard. Lets see if you can live up to your threat!"

With that, Marassa turned around and she transformed into a white owl through a flash of light and she flew off into the night. Rayne just stood there as if she were frozen. Depression and despair began to flow through her.

"Mynce..." she said softly.

A Tentalce Mutate began to walk through the water towards Rayne. She was unaware since her back was turned and she was deep in though.

"I couldn't help any of them… I couldn't help you…"

The Mutate touched dry land and he began his slow lumbering towards the distraught dhampir.

"But… There is one thing I can do…"

Malebranche shifted downward and Rayne grabbed the handles fiercely. Rage was now coursing through her once again. The Mutate was now only four feet away.

"I am going to find Marassa and when I do, I am going to kill her and if any of her Maraisreq come after me, I am going to rip their legs off one by one!"

The Mutate was now within striking range and he lifted his clawed arm but Rayne now sensed his presence and she spun around and sliced off his head in one swipe. Turning on Aura Sense, Rayne saw a whole bunch of lights going off into the distance. Those lights must've been the Maraisreq who ate Mynce and the survivors. Marassa had said that she finally had her sacrifices, so maybe those creatures were heading towards the main nest…

_"You can find her at the Ship Graveyard. She went there with the German to perform black magic. She said that she wanted to summon the Mother of the Underworld."_

Kazi's words echoed in Rayne's head.

"Time to go." Rayne said to herself.

Her Aura Sense had showed that one of the Maraisreq was lagging behind. Maybe she could follow it. With no time to lose, Rayne bounded towards the gaping hole in the wall. Beyond that hole were more houses; maybe this was the main area of the town? Rayne saw a Maraisreq skitter off rather slowly through the water.

"Look who's scampering along…" she said in a voice full of intimidating fury. "Go ahead, lead me to your nest. Enjoy your last moments of life before I cut you to pieces along with your mistress…"

Rayne jumped onto the roof of one house and she began to trail the beast. She wasn't alone however as there were other Maraisreq, Diseased people and even Mutates. The Maraisreq in the water was moving slow enough so Rayne had time to deal with some of these enemies. She sliced off the left legs of a red Maraisreq and cut in half the yellow one that was with it on the same roof she jumped on. Rayne hopped from roof to roof, killing or maiming whoever or whatever got in her way.

A few roofs later, a deafening, earth-shattering explosion rocked the area and it left Rayne dazed. A huge column of black smoke poured out of the ruins of what used to be a gas station. A Diseased must have thrown a stick of dynamite there for some reason. Whatever had been there was without a doubt dead. Rayne saw that she had lost the Maraisreq and she frantically turned on her Aura Sense to track it. It was a couple feet ahead and Rayne immediately started to catch up to it.

Some of the houses had massive spaces between each other and Rayne had to utilize telephone wires to get around. She soon reached what appeared to be the last house, but the wire stopped at a lamppost and Rayne could only watch as the Maraisreq scampered away.

"Damn it end of the line!" Rayne shouted angrily.

To see where the creature went, Rayne used her Aura Sense. What she saw shocked her. Instead of a small blue light, a gigantic blue orb illuminated her sight like the Sun.

"Holy mother of the God what is that!?" Rayne said aloud.

That wasn't there before. Could that be the Mother of the Underworld? If so, Rayne was in for a BIG battle. But how was she going to get there? She looked around and down below her she saw her ticket to the nest.

A boat was tied to the lamppost. Rayne jumped on it, untied it and taking the oar that was there, she began to paddle her way towards her destination. After what felt like an eternity, Rayne saw land. Torches decorated with animal bones and feathers and blade like wooden effigies added an eerie affect to the place. Rayne docked her boat and she got out.

Aura Sense showed that the huge light was now practically a super nova and it took Rayne by surprise.

"What the fuck!" Rayne said in shock.

To add to her surprise, the light moved. It went ahead of her and Rayne took off after it. Boats and ships began to appear along the horizon. The types of watercraft ranged from fishing and shrimping vessels, small cargo ships, steamboats and recreational cruisers. True to its name, the Ship Graveyard was hauntingly quiet and disconcerting, a perfect yet unusual place for a murderous voodoo practitioner like Marassa.

The sound of the water brushing up against the hulls and the creaking of the ships echoed along with the omnipresent music of crickets, grasshoppers and frogs. Rayne landed on a giant ship and a Frog Mutate jumped out of from under the deck to attack her. It whipped out it's long tongue towards Rayne who jumped over it and she slashed the Mutate's back when she landed behind it. It howled with pain and it turned around to slash Rayne with its claws but she sliced off its hand and then half of the creature's face diagonally. Rayne was going to have be cautious whenever she landed on a boat now just in case a Mutate or a Maraisreq would pop out to surprise her.

After ship hopping, Rayne landed on a barren piece of dry land. Her Aura Sense lit up a small boat that was just ahead of her and Rayne rushed over. A chill shook Rayne's skin, something evil had been here, but it wasn't Marassa… She also smelled tobacco smoke too but as far as she knew Marassa wasn't a smoker either. And speaking of which, Rayne found her.

She was still sitting on the roof of the boat chanting with the flickering lights of candles. Ironically enough, the boat was called the "Fair Lady" in blue font.

"I found you Marassa…" Malebranche was brought out. "Prepare to die!"

Marassa stopped her incantation and she stood up to turn and face Rayne with that same smug look.

"I knew you would come, but you are far too late ma cherie. It has been done. Everything has been assembled for tonight's ritual and soon the bayou will quake with my wrath!" Marassa exclaimed triumphantly.

"And what makes you think that will stop me from tearing your heart out?" Rayne said wrathfully.

"Because" Marassa pointed at Rayne. "Once you see the power that I will gain soon, you will crumble to your knees and beg for mercy. I will spare you of course because after all, you and I are so much alike…"

Rayne raised an eyebrow to all of this.

"Alike? How the hell are we alike?" she said.

"Like I said when we first met at the warehouse ma Cherie, we are both unwanted by society. Together you and I can create a new one where we will be accepted and…"

Rayne cut her off.

"No, no, no, you listen Marassa. We are nothing alike, personality wise anyway. The big difference is that I don't kill people for fun or malice like you do and second, I'm sure that without a doubt that you will turn out to be no different from the people who discriminated and mistreated you because you are a mulatto in your "dream society". Hell you're acting like them now and you dare call yourself a victim. I'm sorry that you were treated badly for being a mulatto Marassa, but guess what, that's not an excuse for you to go kill people.

You are nothing more than a pathetic hypocrite and I pity you…"

Marassa's blue eyes went livid with a building anger. She knelt down, and without taking her eyes off of Rayne, picked up a sinister looking knife that was next to the book with her left hand before she switched it to her right. She pointed it at Rayne with unblinking fury and Rayne readied herself for a battle. But after what felt like five tense minutes, Marassa lowered her weapon. She narrowed her eyes at Rayne and then she smirked. She suddenly spun around to face the book and she held out both her hands, which now firmly grasped the knife high above her and she shouted:

"Eveiller Mere de l'Pegre!" (French for Awaken Mother of the Underworld)

After shouting out those words, Marassa plunged the knife into her own abdomen. Rayne gasped in shock at the bloody act. Dark red blood began to pour out of Marassa's wounded chest and mouth and she crumbled to her knees before the book. With trembling fingers, Marassa pulled out the now blood soaked knife from her stomach. She held it above the book and she let the blood drop onto the arcane pages.

"Heheheh… Eveiller… Eveiller… Eveiller…"(French for awaken) Marassa whispered over and over through her blood-choked mouth. The scene was so surreal that Rayne blinked twice to see if she was actually experiencing this rather than dreaming it.

"Mantema… Mantema..." Marassa murmured softly and suddenly the ground began to tremor steadily. The tremor turned into a full out earthquake and Rayne braced herself for what was coming. Large ripples and bubbles began to appear before Marassa's boat. A huge shadow appeared under the surface of the water and it got larger and larger as it got closer to the surface. The surface broke and a huge monster appeared.

It looked like a Maraisreq except this one was ten times bigger, had what appeared to be a pregnant belly and a long serpentine neck.

Mantema had finally arrived.

She fixed her huge front legs on each side of Marassa's boat and she looked down on her summoner, water dripping from her body and fangs. Marassa looked up to her as a child would to a loving parent. The knife dropped from her hand and it clattered on the roof of the boat.

"Take me… Mother of the Underworld…"

Mantema complied and she pulled her head back and then suddenly lunged it forward, engulfing Marassa and half the boat in one gulp. Rayne had to backflip off the island to avoid the wave created by the monster. As soon as she landed on safer ground, Rayne saw that Mantema was now "looking" at her and was coming towards her direction, overturning a boat and causing footsteps that thundered throughout the area like bomb blasts.

"Whoa! Big mama!" Rayne said.

She stood her ground and readied Malebranche. It was time to put an end to this Southern nightmare.

It was time to face the Mother of the Underworld herself!

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**Pretty violent huh? Marassa's a zealot isn't she? Next chapter is the battle, thanks for reading, have a good New Year and please review! :)  
**


	12. Chapter 11: Mother of the Underworld

**Happy New Year's Day everyone! First chapter of 2015. Please enjoy! :)**

***= BloodRayne Betrayal Soundtrack - 03 The Crabpuncher**

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*****Mantema opened her mouth and let out a growl as Rayne pulled out her remaining guns and she fired at the monster. The bullets didn't do much except annoy the Mother of the Underworld. She rooted herself onto the ground and lunged forward with her teeth bared and tried to grab Rayne but she cartwheeled away from her just in time and Mantema only got a mouthful of earth and gnarled tree roots. She let out a angry hiss and she protruded out her stomach. Just like the nests, a vertical slit appeared on her belly and three Maraisreq came out, two yellow and one red.

The minute they landed on the ground, Mantema's "children" went after Rayne.

"**WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MANTEMA'S BOUNTY RAYNE?"**

A thick, deep, evil voice rumbled out from the Mother of the Underworld. It sounded a little like Marassa's voice.

"Marassa?" Rayne said in disbelief after she sliced off the leg of one Maraisreq. As she fought with them, the voice spoke again.

**"CORRECT, IT IS I… I HAVE BECOME ONE WITH THE MOTHER OF THE UNDERWORLD. I AM NOW A LOA…" **

Marassa rambled on as Rayne made a twisted mess of the Maraisreq.

**"NO… NOT JUST A LOA. A GODDESS… I WILL BE WORSHIPED, AND RESPECTED!" **

Taking advantage of Rayne's distraction, Mantema/Marassa marched towards her and she lifted up her right front leg. With the sickle shaped claw held up high, she brought it down. Rayne got out of the way just in time and the claw crashed into the earth. However, she must have plunged the claw too deeply as it got stuck in the ground and she struggled to free it. A loud snap sounded and the Mother of the Underworld fell right on her abdomen sending shock-waves, her right claw was gone and in its place yellow blood poured out.

Seeing her chance, Rayne ran towards the fallen super arachnid and she laid into her with Blood Rage. Mantema's skin was tough but Rayne cut pieces of off with her blades. Mantema groaned slowly and she suddenly got right back up. Her claw had regenerated. She plunged her left one just above Rayne to pierce her head but Rayne escaped this one as well.

She had to cut off those legs so she could take the Mother of the Underworld down. As if anticipating her plan, the Mother of the Underworld took in a deep breath and a blast of fire was spewed out of her mouth.

"Holy shit!" Rayne shouted and she backflipped away from the incoming flames. The Mother of the Underworld charged her prey, confident that soon her nemesis will soon meet her doom. A deep, shuddering laugh was emitted from the beast.

"**WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING MA CHERIE? THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN HIDE…"**

"Not going anywhere lady! Not until I cut off your legs, use them to pry your chest open and rip out your fucking guts!"

This earned another laugh by the Mother of the Underworld.

"**HAHAHAHA! OH MA CHERIE, YOU MAKE ME LAUGH. IT WILL BE YOU WHO SHALL DIE, NOT ME! I AM A LOA, I CANNOT DIE!"**

"We'll just see about that Marassa…" Rayne said.

Rayne had used up all of her guns and she only had one stick of dynamite left. She going to have to get quite creative as this battle goes on. Then again, creativity was her specialty. Rayne saw a Diseased man standing dumbly on the shoreline of the island she was on and an idea popped into her head. She quickly sent out her harpoon and when he was pierced, Rayne reeled him in and then threw the man towards Mantema.

She grabbed him in her mouth and acting quickly, Rayne pulled back the chain and she was flown close to the Mother of the Underworld. Mantema opened her mouth again to try and bite down on Rayne but the latter grabbed her upper "lip" and she somersaulted over her head and she landed on the back of the monster. Digging her stiletto heels into the Mother of the Underworld's back, Rayne went to work. She cut off the front right leg, it was surprisingly easy, like chopping down reeds. Mantema shrieked a soul rattling scream but Rayne continued with the amputation of her limbs.

When Rayne severed the last leg, the Mother of the Underworld fell with a loud boom. Rayne immediately entered Blood Rage and she cut and slashed her fallen opponent. Blood and viscera flew as Rayne worked away at Mantema. However, the Mother of the Underworld managed to overcome her pain long enough to give Rayne a nasty surprise. A tumor like mass began to form on the right side of Mantema.

The skin broke open and a glowing red tentacle emerged and it wrapped itself around Rayne's neck and it threw her into the water.

"Aaaaahhhhh!," screamed as the water burned her. She managed to jump onto a nearby rusted ship, her skin blotchy and simmering with a stinging, lingering burn. Recovering, Rayne could only watch from the stern of the ship as the Mother of the Underworld regenerated her legs and stood up.

"**WHERE ARE YOU RAYNE?" **the Mother of the Underworld called out. Rayne decided to play a game of hide and seek and she retreated towards the deck of the ship. The sounds of screeching and metallic howling filled the air.

"**FIND HER!" **The Mother of the Underworld said. Her "children" began scamper into the water looking for Rayne. Rayne could hear the sounds of the Maraisreq's feet climbing up the ships and boats, their claws scraping off rust or puncturing rotten wood. The rumble of Mantema's footsteps echoed as well and Rayne's Aura Sense showed that she was coming to the ship she was on. Besides her, Rayne found that she had another unwanted visitor. A Maraisreq came walking up on the upper deck searching for her.

Rayne harpooned it and she stomped on its head before it could scream. It 's head made a sound similar to that of an egg being cracked, the yellow blood was like the yolk.

"Creaaaaaakkkkkk…."

Rayne turned to see that a rusted metal fixture on the ship was broken and it was hanging onto the last of its strength. It had a sharp, jagged end and Rayne had an idea. Just as Mantema looked over Rayne's ship, an explosion sent a column of water rising into the air like a waterspout. The Mother of the Underworld and her children went towards the disturbance, giving Rayne enough time to work out her plan. She ran from the side of the ship where she had thrown the dynamite and she went towards the metal beam that she saw earlier.

Using her harpoon to tear it down, Rayne took the heavy thing into her hands and she jumped on the roof of the ship's wheel room. There, she held up the metal beam with her dhampir strength in a stance like she was going to throw a spear.

"Hey! Underworld Mama!" Rayne called out.

Mantema turned her head immediately towards the source of the voice.

"Heads up!," Rayne said and she threw the beam. It sailed through the air and it staked a stunned Mantema to the ground like a tent through the left side of her abdomen. She let out an ugly, gut-wrenching howl of pain and she began to unleash more Maraisreq from her wounded stomach.

"**GET HER! GET HER! GET HER!" ** Mantema/Marassa shrieked.

"Now she won't be going anywhere!" Rayne said triumphantly to herself. She jumped off the wheel room, twirled over the water and landed right by a torch and she charged Mantema with Blood Rage. Her children came to defend her but Rayne made short work of them all and she went all out into Mantema. Cuts turned to gashes and gashes turned to gaping holes exposing pulsing organs and the dull glint of bloodied bone.

"**YOU WILL DIE!" **Mantema howled and she breathed fire onto Rayne who avoided it and she ran around the monster. She jumped over her and she sliced one side of her neck, causing yellow blood to pour like a waterfall from the wound. The Mother of the Underworld became lethargic from the loss of blood.

"**NO! NO! THIS CANNOT BE… I SHOULDN'T DIE… I AM… LOA… I SHOULDN'T DIE… I CANNOT BE DYING…!" **

Mantema chanted this over and over as if it could protect her from the inevitable. Rayne remained indifferent.

"This is for Mynce you bitch…" Rayne said and she repeated the same attack she did before.

**"NO!"**

The Mother of the Underworld screamed. Rayne sliced the other side of her neck and Mantema just stopped moving but her blood did not cease flowing from her wounds. To finish her off, Rayne ran up, jumped up and she kicked off the Mother of the Underworld's head. The head landed with loud boom. The Mother of the Underworld, had met her end.

Besides her death, Rayne noticed how something peculiar was happening. The few remaining Maraisreq, scattered Diseased and Mutates all began to fall down dead. The plague was over, Rayne's mission was complete. She had exacted her revenge.

"Back to sleep for you." She said to the headless corpse. "Permantly…" she added.

The crickets were the only response she had. Now what? Rayne figured she could go back to the church and get the boat and return to New Orleans to contact Brimstone and tell them about the mission. It was going to be hard to tell them that they had lost an agent and the survivors. Rayne sighed deeply, that's one hell of a way to start off her career with the Brimstone Society let alone remember it.

Rayne walked around the corpse and towards the direction she used to come to the Ship Graveyard. She didn't get too far however when she heard a strange sound. It sounded like a fire starting. Rayne turned around and she saw flames, but it was coming from the Mother of the Underworld's stomach. Disturbed yet fascinated by this, Rayne got closer to the burning spectacle.

But as soon as it started, the fire stopped and in its place was a gaping hole. Rayne could see Mantema's ribs but there something strange about one of them. It was colored red and black and it was glowing.

"Glowing ribs?" Rayne said.

She reached into the hole and she grabbed the rib. She managed to pull it off with great force and she analyzed it. The rib was oddly cold and it looked like it was made out of crystallized fire and blood and it reminded Rayne of that tentacle that the Mother of the Underworld used to throw her into the water. It was the strangest thing Rayne had ever seen and she had witnessed and seen _a lot_ of weird things over the years.

"Maybe Brimstone will know what this thing is…" Rayne said to herself.

Just then, the rib's glow became more intense and it became red hot like a newly forged iron. It vibrated with an intense pulse and it took a life of its own. It took control of Rayne's right hand, making its fingers close around and forcing it to drive the rib into Rayne's right side. Taken by surprise, Rayne used her left hand to tightly grasp her right wrist and she struggled to keep her this thing from stabbing her. Despite her strength, the rib made its way into Rayne's flesh.

The moment it touched her blood, the rib slid out of her hand and it began to attach itself below her other ribs. The whole event was so painful that Rayne fell over onto her side, clutching the area where the rib went through and rolling about as if she were on fire. Sweating profusely, Rayne howled and cried as the rib seemed to have some horrible adverse affect over her. Besides the pain, she had bizarre, fantastic visions. Visions of some great black winged being falling from the clouds… giant, clawed hands… the black winged figure tearing something apart and throwing them this way and that… blood was everywhere…

Rayne passed out.

Some unspecified amount of time later, it felt like hours but it could've only been minutes, Rayne was still there, curled up into a ball too afraid to even move. The sound of a vehicle approached and Rayne could smell the exhaust. She opened her salt-caked eyes and the headlights from the vehicle stung her for a moment. She blinked and she saw that it was a military jeep. Somebody got out of it and walked towards her. She heard the driver of the jeep speak.

"Herr Wulf, sie ist lebendig!" (German for Sir Wulf, she is alive)

The man who was standing before Rayne turned to the driver.

"Ja, ich bin bewusst, dass. Aber es tut aussehen wie sie hat lange, um zu leben, obwohl..." (German for, Yes I am aware of that. But it doesn't look like she has long to live though...)

The man was bald, he had a monocle in one eye and that one was red while the other one was an icy, steel grey. He wore a dark grey army uniform with a black and white badge shaped like an eagle holding an olive leaf crown that encircled a bizarre X shaped symbol in the center of it on his right pocket lapel. On his right arm was a red armband with a white circle that had a another X like symbol on it but it was different from the one on his pocket. The man looked scary. In fact, this man emitted a terrifying aura.

Rayne recognized it as the one she felt earlier before she confronted Marassa. The man spoke, his cigarette holder going up and down with the movements of his jaw, ash falling from the lit cigarette onto Rayne's motionless body.

"I believe that you have something of mine..." he said in German accented English.

"Oh God... Oh God..." Rayne managed to say. It was all she could say.

The man smiled.

"Now don't take this personally, but I will enjoy this greatly."

And with that the man held his right hand up to the moon. It extended into a fiery blade. When he was satisfied with the length the man turned his gaze towards Rayne. He had a sadistic look on his face and he plunged his hand under Rayne's ribs and he grabbed her "newest addition" and he yanked hard. Rayne screamed in pain all over again as the man pulled violently at the bone.

Finally, he pulled the rib out with a loud snap, it dripped with Rayne's blood. The man sported and even bigger grin than before as Rayne wailed uncontrollably with pain.

"Perfect." He said. He brought the dripping rib down towards his own chest and just like with Rayne, the fingers of his right hand clenched themselves tightly around the bone and it plunged itself into his own chest. The man didn't even flinch but when he looked up after doing the deed, his monocled eye was glowing an even more intense red than before.

"Fantastic... Such power..." He turned towards Rayne. "As much as I wish you were that colored witch, I feel that you are a wonderful exception my dear. Now if you excuse me, I must depart."

The man bowed.

"Auf wiedersehen."

The man went back to the jeep and he began to say something to the driver but Rayne blacked out again and all she could feel was herself disappearing into a dark nothingness...

* * *

**Just one more chapter for this arc and then we get started on the second one. I can't wait to create new characters for the five years. Anyway, thank you for reading and please review! :) **


	13. Chapter 12: Rest and Recovery

**Here is the final chapter of Arc 1! I am on a creative streak! A good way to start of 2015! Next is Arc 2: Around the Globe. That one will deal with the five years between the Louisiana and Argentina mission. This chapter is a little long but please enjoy! :)  
**

**Music to listen too:**

***= Nier (Emil) Memory**

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_**New Orleans hospital**_

_**That morning…**_

Soft sunlight wafted through the thin fabric of the curtains of the room and along with it, the scent of the Mississippi river. The squawking of gulls and the drone of city noises slowly roused Rayne from her coma like sleep. Slowly she became more aware of herself and the room she was in. It was an immaculate space, the black and white checkerboard floor was spotless, the bed positioned at the other wall was neatly made with white sheets that were free of wrinkles along with a perfectly folded comforter at the end of the bed, a set of drawers, glossy with varnish was at the foot of the bed. Rayne saw that she was in a bed herself.

She could feel the soft, cool blanket covering her body up to her chin. A cotton comforter was folded neatly and a set of drawers were at the foot of her bed as well. Rayne moved and she discovered that her left arm was on top of the blanket and she had an IV in her wrist. Two of them in fact, one led up to a glass jar filled with a transparent medicine and the other with blood. It was Type – O, according to the label on the bottle.

Rayne tried to get up from the starched linens but as she inched her rear closer to her pillow, pain shot up through her right side.

"Ah!"

Rayne hissed with pain and she clutched her side. The pain seemed to dance on every nerve on that side and Rayne repositioned herself to lay down again. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain finally subsided and Rayne breathed easier although more cautiously. She had felt the texture of bandages wrapped around her chest. Rayne saw a clock above the door to the room that said 9:55 am.

A shadow appeared behind the wavy glass window of the doorway and the ancient brass knob turned and an attractive middle-aged woman came in. She had cropped, wavy dark brown hair, black glasses, a pink dress that covered her knees and her lips were painted a vibrant shade of red and in one hand she carried a briefcase.

"Oh your awake!" she said and she closed the door behind her. She pulled up an old wooden chair from behind the drawers in front of Rayne's bed and set it beside the bed. The woman laid her briefcase on the nightstand by Rayne and she opened it. Rayne couldn't see the interior but she saw what appeared to be gauze and other medical supplies. The woman turned to Rayne and she flashed an apologetic smile.

"Oh I'm sorry! My name is Martha Zimman and I will be your personal nurse. The Brimstone Society sent me from their base in Washington."

"Your from Brimstone?" Rayne asked in disbelief. The woman flashed a gold chain necklace with a Brimstone symbol pendant.

"Yes I am!" she said cheerfully.

Besides being surprised, a series of questions appeared in Rayne's head and she asked the first one that came into her head.

"Wait, how did I get here?"

"You were found by a National Guard patrol. You and five other people too…"

"Five other people?"

"The survivors of Mortton." Martha said as she picked up a stethoscope.

"They lived? But I saw them get eaten." Rayne asked in disbelief.

"Well apparently the deputy got swallowed still holding his gun and he shot his way out of the monster he was in. His managed to save the others too or so the story goes. The survivors are fine, just badly shaken up and a little burnt from stomach acid. They are quarantined in other rooms in this wing of the hospital too just like you." Martha said as she placed the stethoscope ear pierces into her ears and she tapped the metal head to see if it worked.

"Is there a woman named Mynce here too?" Rayne said hopefully.

Martha's face fell.

"I'm sorry Rayne. She didn't make it. We never found her body anywhere... I'm sorry."

Rayne closed her eyes tight. Feelings of rage and grief mixed together to form a foul concentration inside of her. She felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Its alright Rayne. It wasn't your fault. Mynce would be proud of you and she wouldn't want you to be upset."

Rayne opened her eyes.

"Thank you…" she said softly. Her feelings remained but they softened a little.

"Okay, I'm going to check your heart now." Martha said.

She placed the head of the stethoscope on Rayne's chest. Rayne's skin jumped a little from the cold metal but it soon relaxed. Martha rested her other hand on Rayne's abdomen, it was gentle but it hurt a little and Rayne flinched even more and Martha quickly removed her hand. She moved the stethoscope around a bit more and she placed it over Rayne's left breast.

"Alright now take a deep breath."

Rayne complied but she exhaled the air immediately when the pain set in again. Martha looked at her with alarm. But Rayne explained the cause of it. Concerned, Martha pulled down Rayne's blanket and she examined her bandages.

"Rayne, I am going to apply pressure to your wound okay? I am doing this to see if I need to increase your morphine intake."

Martha outstretched her all her fingers and she rested the tips on the bandages.

"On a scale of one to ten, tell me how much this hurts."

She pressed firmly and small spark of pain flared.

"Four." Rayne said gruffly.

Martha went up farther up to the epicenter of the wound and she pressed down. A loud, sharp gasp of pain tumbled out of Rayne's lips and Martha jumped in her chair.

"Oh God! Fifteen! Fifteen!" Rayne cried out.

Collecting herself, Martha pulled the blankets up to Rayne's shoulders and she patted them.

"I think its safe to say that you need more morphine…" She said.

Martha got up and she adjusted the nozzle of the IV. More painkillers went through the tube and Rayne began to feel better instantly. Martha turned it off and Rayne sighed with disappointment.

"Ahh, did you have to turn it off?" Rayne whined.

Martha chuckled.

"Yes I had to. Morphine is quite addictive and I do not want to add anymore problems for you or the Professor."

"The Professor?" Rayne asked. Martha put the stethoscope away and she placed her hand over Rayne's forehead.

"Yes, he had been calling the Brimstone headquarters at Washington D.C all night last night asking for any updates about you and the mission. They had to unplug the phones he wouldn't stop! He started sending telegraphs and finally, after you were and the others were picked up, Brimstone told him about your welfare. He's flying in from England now to see you. Good, you don't have a fever."

"Oh great..." Rayne moaned. The Professor was a worry wort but he had every right to be Ranye thought. He didn't want to lose another child, even if she wasn't really his own. Martha got up and retrieved a clipboard that was attached to the foot of Rayne's bed and she began to write on it after she sat down again. Silence pervaded the room until Rayne decided to speak.

"So Miss Zimman, how long have you been a nurse?"

Martha stopped writing for a moment to contemplate an answer.

"Let's see… I joined the Red Cross early in '17 when I was 24 and I served overseas in France as an Army nurse during the Great War, and its now 1933, so I have been a nurse for approximately sixteen years."

She went back to whatever she was writing.

"The doughboys over there would call me "Nurse Z"." Martha chuckled.

"What was it like over there?" Rayne asked.

Martha continued writing as she spoke.

"It was messy, scary too. I could hear the shelling at the trenches over seven miles away from the makeshift hospital that we had. I bandaged up all sorts of injuries, set broken bones, helped with surgeries and removed shrapnel shards."

"Did you think that war was worth anything? Was it worth losing all those men?" Rayne asked. It wasn't one she had thought of, it just came out.

Martha stopped writing and she looked at Rayne briefly. Her brown eyes were lit by the sunlight and they looked like topazes. She went back to her writing.

"No." she said. "But I am glad that I served. France was the homeland of my parents. My family and I are French Jews. My parents immigrated to America before I was born. I felt that I was serving both the land of my birth, America, and the land of my ancestors, France.

And supposedly, we were there to stop the tyranny of the German Kaiser but I don't know what to believe. He is in exile now, but that hasn't changed the fact that millions of soldiers and innocent civilians died. A couple of my relatives who still lived in France were killed too…"

Rayne saw the darkness of loss shadow Martha's face and darken her eyes.

She immediately regretted what she said.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"Its alright Rayne. You didn't know, I shouldn't have rambled on like that." Martha gave her a sad smile. She let out a loud sigh…

"And speaking of Germany, have you heard of the madness that is going on there now?"

"Yeah… Hasn't some fascist party established control there? Nazi something?"

"Yes, the Nazi party. They're led by a war veteran named Adolf Hitler."

Rayne remembered the name. She had seen it in a newspaper along with a picture of the man. He was standing in front of a large group of people, his arm was in the air along with everyone else in the crowd in some form of salute. He wore a fierce expression on his face but it didn't seem to match the rest of his appearance. He had a funny, tiny square shaped mustache and a well-groomed tiny mop of dark hair on his head.

Rayne thought he looked like Moe from the "_Three Stooges_". Despite his supposedly funny appearance, the man seemed to have gained a following in Germany. From what she had learned, Hitler had charisma and a grand skill with the use of words and hand gestures. His speeches in the beer halls were often anti-semantic and he spoke of the injustices of the Treaty of Versailles, which had crippled Germany's economy and military after their defeat in the Great War. Tension was dancing around a war weary Europe once again as people feared another Great War, this time it would be sparked by Germany's desire for revenge for their humiliating defeat in 1918.

But Rayne didn't pay much attention to these headlines. As far as she was concerned, Hitler just your average, run-of-the-mill lunatic and after a year or so, he would fade back into obscurity. However, there was one thing that seemed unique. It wasn't important then but now it stood out to Rayne. In some of the pictures she had seen, Hitler and other members of the Nazi party had armbands that had that same weird X symbol she had seen on the man back at the Ship Graveyard.

If her memory served her right, those symbols were called swastikas.

"Hey, Miss Zimman…"

"Yes Rayne?"

"The man who did this to me was German and he had a swastika on his uniform and his armband has this weird looking one too…"

Miss Zimman froze in her chair when Rayne said those words.

"Really? What did he look like?" she asked, her cheery demeanor was now tense.

Rayne relayed the description she remembered from the night's encounter with him. Martha paid attention to every detail that Rayne spoke of, nodding her head gently. But then Rayne's mind suddenly became lighter and her eyelids grew heavier. The extra morphine was starting to affect her. Martha saw Rayne's change in condition.

"You should get some more sleep dear. I will increase your blood intake too so you don't wake up too hungry okay? I will also talk to Brimstone about what you just told me. "

"Okay, thanks…" Rayne said she trailed off into sleep as Martha got up to readjust the blood jar.

...

*****Frost coated the edges of the windowpane, their branches similar to blood vessels. Outside was cold, snow and sleet had fallen the night before and there were men outside on the sidewalks shoveling out large clusters of salt crystals from tin buckets with shovels and they spread them out with their feet and brooms. Cars and trucks made their way slowly up and down the road while some young children played and a few other adults went about their business and to add to the jubilant atmosphere, it was the Holiday season, evident by some of the windows of the apartment buildings draped with boughs of holly, candles and the sight of Christmas trees in some of the rooms too. One little girl looked out excitedly from the window, her pale little hands pressed on the glass.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look it snowed!" The little girl cried out with joy. It was Rayne. It was December 20, 1920, according to the calendar on the opposite wall of the dinner table. Thirteen years ago, Rayne was four at the time.

"Yes dear I know." Her mother, Eliza, answered gently.

She was in front of a pot bellied stove, her sleeves rolled up and her vivid red hair, the same color that her daughter had, tied up into a bun cooking hash browns in a skillet. The smell was intoxicatingly delicious, especially during a cold winter morning.

"Can I go out and play?" Rayne asked hopefully. Her mother flipped a clump of shredded potatoes in the oil sputtering pan.

"No not yet dear. You can after breakfast though. After you eat, you will have more energy to play in the snow today. Didn't Harriet's parents promise to take you to the "Hill" today to go sledding if it snowed?"

Harriet was Rayne's friend and their families were neighbors in their humble apartment complex in Manhattan. The "Hill" was an undeveloped lot that consisted of a massive garbage and dirt pile that was located just a few blocks from where Rayne lived. It was the favorite playground for the neighborhood children especially during the winter when they could sled down the giant mound of dirt and stone. Harriet had asked her parents if she could bring Rayne to the "Hill" if it snowed and they said yes. The reason Eliza couldn't take her daughter there herself was because she had to go to the textile mill where she worked as a secretary to fill in for coworker who had gotten very sick with the flu.

Her boss had promised to pay her extra and that she will only have to work for five hours since Christmas was coming up, so Eliza agreed. After a hearty breakfast of hash browns and eggs, Eliza got Rayne suited up for outside. She helped Rayne put on a big, thick sweater, a huge winter coat, tie on her boots, pull on mittens, wrap a plaid scarf around her neck and finally, the earmuffs were put on. Rayne was ready to go outside, she had a little time before Harriet and her family got ready to go to the "Hill" later.

"There you go! You can go outside now Rayne. Just be careful of…"

Rayne was so excited that she bounded out the door before her mother could say ice. The little girl ran down four flights of stairs until she finally reached the apartment entrance. It was chilly outside and the air was crisp and frigid but it didn't deter Rayne at all. She was instead mesmerized by the snow.

"Chink, chink, chink."

Rayne turned to her right to see Mrs. Gottschalk, the German landlady of the next-door apartment, outside on her front doorstep breaking up ice with the end of her broomstick. Feeling neighborly, Rayne called out to her and waved.

"Good morning Mrs. Gottschalk!" the girl yelled out.

The middle-aged woman looked away from her steps and she smiled and waved back to Rayne.

"Ahh, ja, good morning Rayne. How are you?" she called out in German accented English.

"Good thank you! How about you?"

"Oh I'm fine dear. Just getting rid of this pesky ice!" Mrs. Gottschalk emphasized her task by beating the step harder with her broom.

"You take care now!" she called out.

Rayne turned her attention towards the street and she took one step. The minute she applied pressure on her foot, the boot slipped and Rayne fell over the steps. She landed hard on her left arm, the concrete of the stairs pressed sharply against her skin and the impact broke her ulna. Rayne's pained screams brought her mother bounding from their apartment and down the stairs in record time, along with Mrs. Gottschalk and some people in the street. Seeing that her child had been wounded, Eliza picked Rayne up into her arms and she began to make her way to the doctors.

Mrs. Gottschalk stopped her and told her to wait, saying that the sidewalks by the doctors office was unsalted at this hour and that Eliza could slip and she offered to have her son-in-law drive both mother and daughter to the doctors. Eliza took the offer with a great deal of gratitude. They managed to reach the doctors office just as it opened. The doctor took a look at Rayne's arm and he X-rayed it. There was no fracture, not even a crack.

"What a miracle!" the doctor said joyfully. Eliza was relieved, but Rayne was perplexed. She knew her bone had been broken and she insisted that it was but the doctor brushed off her worries as childish paranoia. He let Eliza and Rayne leave without a bill saying that it was the holidays and that their appointment was an early morning emergency, but not before giving Rayne a grape flavored lollipop. Rayne licked and chewed her candy as she and her mother were driven back home.

"Isn't this great honey? No broken bones, you can still go sledding with Harriet today and, you got a lollipop out of it!"

True, getting a lollipop was great but that still didn't erase the confusion Rayne was feeling over her injury. How and why did her bone heal so quickly? The only proof of her wound was a big yellow-brown bruise that she had on her forearm now.

"But mommy, I felt it…"

"Now dear, you saw the X-ray and you heard what the doctor said. You don't have any broken bones. You were lucky."

"Okay mommy…" Rayne said in resignation. Maybe she was imagining it, but the pain was too incredible to be made up by a four year old. However, the event faded to the back of her mind and later that morning, she went sledding down the "Hill" with Harriet and her younger twin brother and sister. ***/**Rayne then woke up, the laughter of that winter day fading off into the depths of nostalgia. It was now 11:45 am.

Even though it was mid-July, Rayne could still feel that December chill on her skin, the smell of the hash browns as they cooked, the doctors office, the taste of that grape lollipop and the German pastries that Mrs. Gottschalk had baked for her and her mother as a way to cheer them up after that morning's events. It was both comforting and yet sad to feel those things. The memories of her mother were especially melancholy. Eliza was long gone, and now, Rayne had lost yet another person whom she was close too.

She had only known Mynce for a night but they felt like the best of friends. Rayne could feel tears fall down from her eyes. The room had never felt so much emptier than before. A savory smell found its way to her nostrils and Rayne turned to find a paper plate filled with what appeared to be fried fish and lemon wedges to flavor the fish with and a tin mug of sweet tea. A note was laying right beside the meal.

"_Rayne,_

_I brought you some food. I hope you like it. The fish is from 'Big Jacques', the legendary giant catfish of Mortton. Did you kill him? If so, great job! He was pretty crispy when he was found but everyone at the hospital has been saying that he's delicious so be sure to give him a try!_

_From,_

_Martha_

_P.S. I'm sorry if the fish is cold when you wake up. "_

That was sweet of her. Rayne found herself to be hungry and she dug into her lunch. Martha was right, Big Jacques was delicious.

**End of Arc 1: Initiation**

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter isn't anti-climatic. I originally intended Rayne to meet up with the survivors and they talk about Marassa. Speaking of which, she wasn't at her full power since her final sacrifices escaped. Rayne would've mostly likely been killed if the ritual did carry out as planned. But anyway, on to the next arc. Next up, Papua New Guinea! For those of you who play the games, you know what this means... **

**Thank you for reading and _please review! :)_**


	14. Chapter 13: Jungle Fever

**Here is the first chapter of the second arc. Please enjoy! :)  
**

**Author's Note: ****Violence, profanity and sexual words ahead**

* * *

**Arc 2: Around the Globe**

_**Papua New Guinea**_

_**1934**_

_**One year later...**_

"Man, this is just like Louisiana…" Rayne said to herself as she flicked away a mosquito. Rayne's statement was true, this mission was just like her first mission a year before, except here in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, it was much more hotter and humid and the mosquitoes were twice as big. She was on a ferry that was gently cruising along a river. Besides the rumbling sound of the motor, Rayne could hear the voices of the nocturnal creatures of the jungle. Monkeys, birds, frogs and insects all made their voices heard here.

Rayne's current mission was to investigate a series of brutal attacks that had been plaguing a Lutheran mission deep in the jungle. According to the reports, every night terrifying humanoid bat-like creatures would emerge from the mountain in droves and they would attack the people gathered in the mission settlement. The beasts were described to have white fur decorated with strange, black markings, huge bat-like fangs and gigantic claws. The claws were the main feature, because supposedly, the monsters used their claws to rip off their victim's heads and they would abscond back into the jungle with their gruesome prize. Brimstone was very intrigued by these details and they sent Rayne not only to put end to these attacks, but to also bring back a body for documentation since the descriptions alluded to an until now previously unknown vampire breed.

Rayne was just as interested in these new vampires as her superiors were. She had seen a lot of new and unusual creatures and sights during the one and a half years she had been working for the Brimstone Society. Just last week in Mexico, Rayne tracked down and killed a chupacabra, a vampiric beast whose name meant "goat sucker" in Spanish. And true to its name, it had been draining goats of their blood as well as chickens in villages all across the Mexican countryside. When the supply of goats and chickens got too low to support it, the chupacabra turned its attention on small children.

It had already killed three toddler-aged kids before Rayne eliminated it.

After her eventful first mission in Louisiana, Rayne spent two days at the hospital before she was discharged and sent back home to England. Despite her vampire side's ability to heal any injury in an instant, this wound was different. The man who did it seemed to possess the power of a demon and the personality to match. The injury took a little longer to close up but it eventually did heal completely and much to the chagrin of the Professor and Holly, Rayne went back to work with Brimstone as soon as her strength returned. Despite the loss of Mynce and Rayne's close brush with death, Rayne enjoyed the thrill adventure, the action and of course, the possibility of finding her father.

Now THAT would be the day.

Adventure was now in some obscure jungle in Papua New Guinea. The author of the frightening accounts of vampire activity was a missionary named Norman Jessop. He and his wife Margaret and teenage son Glenn came to this mostly unexplored region of New Guinea all the way from Nebraska to preach to a headhunting tribe called the Kikunowa. This tribe, isolated by thick jungle and a treacherous river, didn't have any contact with white man until 1910. Twenty-four years later, that contact had grown steadily thanks to airplanes.

The Jessop's stopped sending telegrams a few days ago but some of their past messages, gleaned from a telegram office in the capital city of Port Moresby yielded significant facts. The Jessop's had apparently built several houses around their church to house converts and those interested in converting and it was called the "Village of the Reborn." This had stirred the ire of the non-converted Kikunowa because the "Village" had split up their families. But the most interesting fact was when Norman began to order a lot of mining equipment like pickaxes, dynamite and barrels. He even hired a band of mercenaries to come the mission.

Maybe there was a connection between the pastor's sudden interest in mining and the attacks by primal vampires. Rayne learned the reason behind the mining courtesy of Chet, the ferry captain's first mate. Chet was a man in his early to mid thirties, deeply tanned from constant exposure to sunlight, fairly well built and claimed to be from New Zealand. However, he was a total slob. Grease spots stained his clothes and his teeth were grimy with a yellow patina of alcohol, coffee and tobacco.

In an attempt to flirt with Rayne, he shared warm bottles of beer with her and he talked to her. Chet did most of the talking but sometime during that drawn out conversation, Chet asked what business Rayne had in Papua New Guinea. When she replied that she was investigating the attacks on the Jessop's mission, he laughed in disbelief.

"Aren't you a little too young to be doin that sort of work young lady?" he asked with beer scented breath.

"Aren't you a little too old to be flirting with teenagers?" Rayne quipped. Chet chuckled as he took a swig from his bottle.

"You got me there with that one lassie!"

Chet's deprecating speech irritated Rayne. Just because she was eighteen didn't mean she that she should be treated like a child. Rayne deafened her ears to Chet's talk and she guzzled her beer.

"You know, your hair color reminds me of those rubies those Australian lads had when we ferried them out of here over a week ago."

"Rubies?" Rayne asked not really paying any attention.

"Yeah, big ones! Some of the were the size of cricket balls. They were from that mining operation that the American missionary has going on here."

Chet now had Rayne's full attention.

"Whare are they mining from?" Rayne asked.

"Oh the lads who had them said they were mining from some mountain near the church. Its called Hedrox's Mountain."

"Hedrox?" Rayne said. "What a weird name…" She thought to herself.

"Yeah that's the name of the natives god. Hedrox, God of the Headhunters, now that's a fitting title for a pagan deity!" Chet said aloud, beer spilling out of the pool that had formed in his mouth from his last sip. He wiped his dripping mouth with his arm and he continued.

"Anyways, one of the Aussie fellows tells me that the Yankee missionary's son found a ruby when he was out walking in the jungle one day. The man then gets all of this mining equipment and he has his converts digging around and into the mountain looking for rubies. Said that mining was another way for them to achieve salvation or whatever."

"That's a shocker." Rayne said. "These religious people acting all self-righteous and mightier-than-thou but in the end, they prove to be just as human as anyone else."

"That's a fact lassie." Chet said. "A damn well proven fact. Besides that, my buddy and I here," Chet gestured towards the captain, an equally shabby but much older man who was operating the wheel, "didn't know anything about the mining going on up here until we ferried these rough looking Aussie fellows. They said they were mercenaries hired to protect the Yank's mine. They were led by Kenny Walter's." Chet took a swig to quench his parched throat.

"Who?" Rayne asked.

"Kenneth "Kenny" Walters, he's a bad man from Queensland, Australia. He sells his services to the colonials and anyone else who has the money to pay him. Supposedly he killed a man back in Australia for giving him the wrong look. Heard he broke a bottle and he slashed the poor bloke's throat with it and then he bashed his head into a pool table till his head burst open like a melon. Like I said he's a bad man."

"I see…" Rayne said. Kenny sounded like someone she could manage on her own.

"He lives out here to avoid going to jail. He bribes or threatens people to keep them from talking. I could imagine what he would've done to those two men who took off with the rubies. But I would've done the same thing if I were them too. One of them even said that those rubies would buy him an early retirement at the age of twenty-two and a twenty-three acre sheep farm in New South Wales. Boy if I had that kind of money I would build myself a mansion in my hometown of Auckland*** **and a brewery," Chet shook his bottle with emphasis towards the latter word. "and a have garage filled with the nicest cars that money can buy."

"Ha!" The captain barked. "With that money, I'd retire and go sail the whole world. I always wanted to see Spain and the French Riviera."

"What about you lassie?" Chet asked.

Rayne considered it.

"I don't know. I think I have plenty of money as is."

"Really?" Chet asked.

"Yep." Rayne really did have plenty of money thanks to Trumain's immense wealth and the pay she sometimes got from Brimstone. She took a sip from her beer. So a greedy missionary desecrated a holy site for a bunch of sparkling, red stones and now the god Hedrox was exacting his revenge. She couldn't blame him really. It was pretty much like a home invasion, but on a grander scale.

Rayne got impatient and she used her Aura Sense to see if she was getting any closer to the landing site. She didn't want to listen to Chet anymore. Her stop was coming up.

"Thank God…" Rayne said to herself.

As the boat got closer, Rayne noticed how the captain didn't go directly to the shore. Instead he stopped the boat and let it idle and he turned his attention towards Rayne. Lechery filled his eyes and he walked deliberately towards her. Rayne moved her eyes and she saw the same look come over Chet as well. These bastards were planning on raping her here in the middle of the river. Rayne didn't panic though, she knew she could handle these assholes.

"How comes we're not anchoring off shore?" Rayne asked without betraying a hint that she knew what the men were up to.

"Oh… just some engine trouble." The captain said. "But, I will fix it if you let us get acquainted with that fine ass of yours." He said with a sharp, disgusting laugh.

"I get her first." Chet said standing up and breaking his beer bottle on the railing, "After all, I talked to her so I know her better."

"Bullshit! I'm the captain and I get first dibs."

Rayne smirked at them.

"Sorry boys. But the only ones who are getting anything up the ass tonight are you two."

The men laughed at her.

"Oh your so full of shit girlie!" Chet pointed his broken bottle at her. "Now drop those pants and—"

Chet's sentence was cut short when Rayne jumped up, grabbed one of the metal pole arches that held up the awning above the crates on the boat and she kicked both him and the captain in their faces. As the men groaned in pain and felt around their mouths with their tongues for any loose or broken teeth, Rayne went to work on them. Retracting Malebranche, which these two idiots ignored, thinking it was just some kind of weird decoration, she stabbed the captain behind his left knee.

"Aahh!" the man screamed.

He screamed even more when Rayne stomped on his hand. Her bladed heel pierced his hand while the sole of her shoe crushed his knuckles and fingers.

"You goddamned bitch…"

Chet growled as he attempted to get up but Rayne jumped on him, his back making an audible cracking noise as the bones broke. Now it was Chet's turn to scream.

"Oh hush now honey." Rayne said in mocking, soothing voice. "Its about to get much worse."

Rayne chucked Chet's broken bottle into the river and she proceeded to break his arms. To silence him, Rayne took off his hat and she stuffed it into his mouth. She heard the flick of a switchblade and Rayne turned to see the captain, who was attempting to crawl towards her with a knife in his good hand. Having neutralized Chet as a threat, Rayne simply walked away from him and she went up towards the captain. He tried to stab her feet but Rayne grabbed his wrist before he could and she sat on his back with her legs wrapped around his neck.

She used her other hand to grab a hold of the captain's head and she pulled it back.

"Now, you are going to listen to me buddy." Rayne said as she tightened her grip on his greasy hair. "I am going to pull you up and your going to drive this boat towards shore and if you try anything funny…"Rayne extracted Malebranche.

"I will shove this up your…"

"Okay! Okay!" The man shouted.

"Good boy." Rayne said.

She got off of him and she pulled the would-be rapist up and she dragged him towards the ship's wheel and ordered him to steer the boat. During the entire time he stood there, Rayne kept one blade close to his neck. When he finally got the boat towards shore Rayne ordered the captain to drop anchor. When he did, Rayne took some rope and she tied him and Chet up very tightly.

"Why are you doing this?" The captain said angrily as Rayne did one final pull on the rope.

"So you guys won't sail off without me. And before I forget," Rayne knelt down and she rifled through the captain's pockets and she pulled out a small amount of paper money and coins. "I will take this back. This will be my refund for poor customer service."

With that done, Rayne got up.

"Now you boys sit tight. I won't be back for awhile. Don't go anywhere now!"

"How can go anywhere like this?" The captain hissed at her.

"Just joking with you. Ciao!" Rayne turned to shore and she leapt off the boat. It felt good to touch solid ground beneath her feet again after that two hour jungle cruise up the river. She turned on her Aura Sense and she a blue light far up ahead. Now knowing her destination, Rayne began to run through the jungle. What would await her there?

* * *

***= The capital of New Zealand**

**One heck of a way for Rayne to start off her mission huh? But those bastards got what they deserved! Stay tuned for the next chapter. Thank you for reading and _please review! :)_**


	15. Chapter 14: Primal Fear

**Hey everyone! So sorry for the long wait. Its been over a year since I last posted for this story but here it is, the next chapter of BloodRayne! Do enjoy! **

**Author's Note:** **Blood, gore and profanity ahead. **

* * *

_**Kikunowa Village and the Village of the Reborn**_

Rayne jogged through the jungle with ease. Thanks to her vampire sight, Rayne could see the rocks and exposed tree roots that jutted out of the earth so she could avoid tripping over them and her acute hearing allowed her to listen for running water so she wouldn't get cooked if she accidentally ran into a river or stream. Rayne felt that she was getting closer to the village, so she put on her Aura Sense to see if she was right. She was, a large blue light pulsed not too far away from her and Rayne continued on the path.

"OoohAhahAhahAhahA!"

A monkey cried out from above and Rayne looked up to see the little mamal perched atop a strange painted wooden carving. It was like a totem pole, the wooden sculpture of some strange bat-like humanoid stood firmly atop the pole with its claws out and its cavernous mouth opened, showing its massive fangs. Along with the bat creature, human faces were carved into the palms of its clawed hands and they were haloed with red paint. It fit the description of the monsters found in the eyewitness accounts in the mission report. Besides being a marker, this statue also appeared to honor the god of the headhunters; Hedrox and his minions.

"Talk about weird gods…" Rayne said aloud. However, god or not, these things were going to meet their match against Rayne and her blades. She couldn't wait to get to work on them if she saw any. Returning to the path, Rayne proceeded onward until she finally stepped foot into the village. Nestled in the jungle clearing were several wooden houses with thatched roofs and walls that were decorated with strange and primal designs.

Simple wooden canoes were laying on the riverbank with some fishing nets and spears laying nearby along with a rack filled with drying fish hanging from it like animal pelts. The most prominent feature of the place however were the scattered totem pole statues of bat creatures. At the base of these sculptures were small clay figurines shaped to look like a two-dimensional version of the totem poles and to add the morbid atmosphere, real human femurs and skulls were also seen with the clay figures. Rayne could see that the skulls had their eye sockets stuffed with clay and decorated with colored stones, shells and seeds to look like eyes.

"I wander if those skulls were from headhunting raids?" Rayne thought to herself.

The village looked deserted but it was probably because the villagers were sleeping. Aura Sense revealed that Rayne's next destination was just over the treetops and Rayne began to run towards it. Just as she was getting closer to the jungle, Rayne heard the distinctive noise of running feet, not hers, coming from somewhere in the jungle. Farther down from her right, Rayne saw a simple path through the forest and a young Caucasian man came running down it, carrying a small dark skinned child wearing a white dress in his arms.

"Help! Somebody help please!" the young man cried. His accent was American and Rayne assumed that he was Glenn Jessop, the son of Norman Jessop, the Lutheran missionary who had reported the attacks. The young girl looked conscious and she clung to the young man's shirt, her little hands trembling fiercely with fear. Startled voices and the clatter of rushing people began to echo from the huts and soon the coal dust colored bodies of the Kikunowa tribe began to appear. Some of the adults wore woven reed loincloths or skirts, bone nose or ear piercings, simple necklaces made of tanned hide decorated with colored stones or pieces of eggshells, bracelets or bangles decorated with feathers, shells or nuts while the children were mostly nude save for a few pieces of jewelry.

The men were armed with spears and bow and arrows and they aimed their weapons at Glenn. Terrified by the sight of the weaponry and the painted and adorned bodies of the warriors, Glenn fell to his knees but he retained his hold on the young girl who was whimpering softly. The young girl turned to face the congregation and suddenly somebody yelled something in a strange language with a surprised tone. Another equally surprised voice resounded from the girl and the assembled group of warriors parted to show one of their own gaping in shock at the child.

"Kuni?!" The man said and the little girl released herself from Glenn's grip and she ran towards the man who was her father and she fell into his outstretched arms. The man held her tightly and stroked her hair, cooing consoling words to calm his child while some of his fellow villagers got closer to examine or comfort her. Glenn meanwhile looked like a complete wreck. His clothes were torn in a few places and spots of blood were scattered haphazardly about his shirt. He just stared at the Kikunowa as they focused all of their attention on the young girl.

'H-hey…" He managed to say and he held his hand out towards the tribe when the points of their spears and arrows were aimed at his direction again along with the angry glares of the villagers. The people began to shout furious words in their language at the shaken man. One Kikunowa began to run towards Glenn with his spear held out in front of him in order to impale him. Before he could reach the young man, Rayne jumped in front of Glenn and she sliced the spear in half. The villagers shrieked in surprise when they realized what had happened.

They had just noticed Rayne for the first time since all of their attention was on the young girl and Glenn. After their shock had passed the warriors resumed their offensive position and they aimed their weapons at Rayne.

"Ahh great…" Rayne mumbled to herself. "You guys really don't want to do this..."

Rayne said as she retracted Malebranche on her left arm and she held both blades up. The blades caused a wave of frightened murmuring to flow through the crowd.

"Now l know you guys probably don't know what I'm saying, but I did not come here to harm you. I'm here to help with a vampire problem but whoever comes after me or Glenn here with a spear again is going to lose a limb or two."

The congregation exchanged looks of confusion. She flexed the swords again to drive the message home since English wasn't helping at all. They still stared with blank stares but the movements did cause them to back off.

"You're here to help?"

A thickly accented voice answered somewhere among the crowd. The people parted and an elderly woman in a woven reed skirt and nutshell necklace lumbered over with a wooden cane. Her wiry white hair accented her leathery coal colored, wrinkled skin and the sclera of her eyes were a dark brownish yellow. She stared at Rayne with a very hard look.

"You speak English?" Rayne said in astonishment.

"Yes, some. White men come here to teach us their language."

She pointed her cane towards Glenn.

"His mother teaches English too. But she and her husband take away our loved ones, saying its for their own good and that our way of life is a bad influence!"

She repeated what she just said in her native tongue to the villagers and they began to shout and curse angrily into the air. Glenn, who had been silent up to this point spoke.

"B-but we were only trying to help -" He stammered but his words were cut off by the girl's father yelling at him in his native tongue.

"He says," the elder translated, "Because of you, Hedrox is angry. He will destroy our village after he ruins yours!"

The very mention of the name Hedrox terrified the villagers and they began to mutter the name repeatedly either in prayer or in fear. But this was not of any concern for Rayne, she was more taken aback by Glenn's lack of tactful thinking.

"Glenn, do us both a favor and just keep your mouth shut. I'll handle this."

"How do you know my name?" Glenn asked confusingly.

"Long story, I'll tell you later."

Somebody in the crowd gasped and pointed towards the horizon, shouting in terror. Everyone turned their gaze towards the jungle and they too gasped. Rayne saw nothing at first but then, they appeared. Two figures leapt through the foliage of the jungle canopy with unbelievable speed and they jumped right from the trees and landed right behind Glenn. It was the bat creatures and there was a male and female, easily distinguishable by her multiple breasts and small and leaner build in comparison to her male counterpart.

The villagers screamed in panic and they ran back into their houses. Some of the warriors stayed but they were too petrified to do anything against these creatures. Rayne was amazed at the sight of these beasts. They looked just like the wooden sculptures she had seen and it was so much more exciting seeing them up close and personal. True to the eyewitness reports, the creatures were covered in white fur that was decorated in strange black markings.

What the reports left out however were the multiple piercings they had on their bodies. Bone needles and rings were staked under the skin of their noses, eyebrows, biceps, thighs and chests even their nipples too. Besides the body art, the bat creatures had black glistening eyes that were staring intently and evilly at Glenn who had turned around to see what was behind him. The yellow colored and bloodstained talons were huge and they were arranged into a starfish shape on the tubular hands. Glenn turned white and screamed as the male creature picked him up by his head with his huge clawed hand.

Blood began to seep down Glenn's head as the monster's hand started to envelope his cranium. Thinking fast, Rayne ran up to the creature and she severed his right arm, taking care not to injure Glenn in the process. The young man fell down with the severed limb and he pulled the monstrous thing off. Glenn's hair had turned white from the trauma and his head had a circlet of scratches trailing down his head that had blood seeping out in steady streams. Upon closer examination of the hand, Rayne saw that the palm of the beast had a large mouth full of triangular teeth.

The beast screamed and thrashed as blood spurted out of the fresh stump. Shocked and enraged, both creatures glared at Rayne who simply smirked at them. Taking up her battle stance, Rayne gestured to them with her hand.

"Bring it on."

More than happy to oblige, the creatures charged Rayne with their bloody claws and fangs bared. Rayne jumped over them, righted herself by performing a one-eighty in midair and she slashed the female monster's back. Letting out a horrible shriek, the female retaliated by swinging her right arm out behind her like a club and she knocked Rayne down and sent her flying. Taken by surprise, Rayne righted herself on the grass and when she looked up, she saw the female creature running towards her. Rayne rolled away from her just as the creature's giant claw slammed into the ground in the same spot Rayne was just in.

The male creature, having seemingly gotten over his pain, jumped towards Rayne and rolled towards her in a rapid succession. Forming Malebranche into a narrow 'X' shape, Rayne was able to deflect the one handed blow from the male monster. Sparks flew and Rayne tightened her grip on the handles of her swords since the strike nearly caused her them to fly out of her hand. The female came up and it tried to slash Rayne with her claws but she blocked it with her right blade. The onslaught was relentless and before she knew it, Rayne was blindsided again by another attack and she was pushed back.

"Holy crap!" Rayne gasped.

This was unbelievable, these creatures were so strong. With hands stinging with friction burns and stained by grass juice, Rayne got up and she prepared for another assault. The creatures were walking towards her with sinister intent and they eyed her with equally calculating eyes. Blood Rage would make short work on these monsters but Rayne didn't feel that was ready yet. An arrow landed into the neck of the male and soon more came sailing towards the monsters along with spears. Apparently the remaining Kikunowa warriors had decided to help after being awestruck at the sight of a woman fighting the monsters.

The creatures turned their attention towards the warriors and Rayne took advantage of this distraction. Running up towards the male, Rayne used her right blade to slice through him just above his waist. Blood began to pour out in rivers and it began to spurt out like a fountain after the one armed upper torso fell off. As the legs fell down, the surprised female turned her shocked gaze towards Rayne who was running towards her. The female vampire swung out her club like arms to crush to Rayne but she just simply jumped over her.

Turning around in midair, Rayne landed on the feral vampire's back and she wrapped her legs around her torso. As the creature struggled to get Rayne off her back, Rayne in turn had found a way to deal with the monster. Baring her fangs, Rayne sank her teeth into the neck of the beast and she began to drink. As she drank the monster continued to thrash wildly. However as pints of her blood were being drained by Rayne's fangs, the monster became sluggish and lethargic.

The lethargy was soon replaced by stillness and eventually she fell down backwards, pinning Rayne beneath her. Despite the large amount of weight, Rayne managed to use her inhuman strength to heft the blood-drained corpse off of her. As she regained her strength, Rayne looked over her handiwork. Except for the male creature, the female was still decently intact and it would be the perfect specimen to be sent back to Brimstone. Just this body wouldn't due since Brimstone also wanted a male corpse for study as well.

Silently but not unknowingly, the villagers began to slowly emerge from their hiding places. Their cautious steps became even more tentative as they got closer to Rayne. She was covered in the blood of these creatures and she was able to take them down with relative ease. Also, these things were probably the servants of Kikunowa's god Hedrox. The fear of Hedrox's ever increasing wrath was probably dawning on the Kikunowa.

The villagers had a reason to be hesitant of Rayne's presence.

Only two people would come near her. It was the village elder and an elderly man who appeared to have been of high status. He wore a simple loincloth with small pouches on his hips, bone and leather jewelry and a bone nose piercing. The man also had strange geometric designs painted on him as well. He must have been a shaman.

He looked over the slashed bodies of the monsters and he said something in his native language. It was loud enough for the congregation to hear and they began to cry out in panic and they began to chant Hedrox's name with fear.

"What the hell is going on?" Rayne asked. The village elder, who was the only calm person in the crowd, answered.

"You have killed the servants of Hedrox. Because of that, he will be demanding blood to be paid in turn for this…"

She stomped her cane into a patch of bloodstained grass.

"Such is his way." She said. "But now I am afraid that with the way things are now, he is going to want more heads from our village…"

She gave Rayne an angry look.

"All because of you…"

Rayne shrugged.

"Sorry lady, but this is part of my job. This Hedrox is wreaking havoc and killing innocent people, well some not that innocent, and I am here to stop him."

The old woman looked Rayne up and down with sharp, angry eyes. A smug smile appeared on the weathered lips of the old woman and she nodded slightly to herself. She then turned to her uproarious villagers and shouted something in her native language in order to quiet them. The village elder then began to speak to the warriors and villagers about something in a strong tone like she was giving a speech. After a minute or two, the elder turned to look at Rayne, along with the rest of the villagers.

"You are here to kill Hedrox. However, there is something that we must tell you. Before the missionary from the Land of the Eagle came here, Hedrox was at peace. But when the missionary 's son found one of Hedrox's stones, the missionary had his mountain desecrated with his strange tools and magic. And now, Hedrox is angry. He wants to punish all those that are responsible for this sacrilege."

Rayne took this in consideration. Brimstone had told her to kill the vampire responsible for the attacks; however, there was another rule that the Society had mandated during situations like this. If a monster can be reasoned with, which wasn't often, then it doesn't have to be killed if a good concession could be reached. This disappointed Rayne, she really wanted to test her mettle against a primitive god. But, rules were rules and Rayne had to follow them.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Rayne asked.

"Simple. Talk to him; impress Hedrox with your strength. He is attracted to that. Whenever we have had a successful headhunt, we always offered our strongest warrior as repayment for him for giving us a glorious victory in battle. Hedrox then takes his head and his strength and knowledge become his. It is the greatest honor that a Kikunowa can ever have."

"Talk to him?" Rayne responded incredulously, "How the hell do I talk a bloodthirsty, head eating bat god?"

"Well in my experience, all you have to do is open your mouth and speak." The elder said back with a sly smile.

"Very funny…" Rayne said without a hint of humor in her voice. She then sighed and spoke with a resigned tone in her voice.

"Fine, I will try to talk with your god. But..." Rayne's gaze hardened and her demeanor became serious, "If he proves to be unreasonable, I will not hesitate to kill him. Got it?"

The elderly woman simply leaned on her cane nodding her head. A faint smile formed on her lips.

"Kill him? Hedrox is a god, he cannot die. In fact, his other name represents his inability to die."

She then turned to her villagers and spoke to them in her native language. The people suddenly said an unrecognizable name with fear filled awe.

"What are you people saying…" Rayne asked. The old woman turned to look at her again with her yellowed eyes.

"The Infinite. Hedrox the Infinite. That is his name and it speaks volumes of his power… In the stories, when our ancestors first encountered Hedrox, they were terrified of him so they threw spears at him and cut him with stone knives. One foolish man sliced off Hedrox's arm but he only laughed at this injury.

His arm grew back and from the one that was cut off, another Hedrox formed from it and it devoured the man. Hedrox's wrath was averted only when the strongest warrior laid down his weapons and bowed before him with great humility. The warrior offered his blood to Hedrox and he in turn took the man's head. In return for heads, Hedrox would come help us during battles and headhunting raids… His mountain is filled with the solidified blood of the sacrifices…"

"Solidified blood?" Rayne thought. Then it came to her. She remembered what the ferryboat captain had said earlier about some Australian mercenaries fleeing with bags full of large rubies. The rubies were undoubtedly the "solidified blood" that the woman was talking about. It could also explain Hedrox's current wrath towards the Kikunowa and the missionary and his mercenaries.

The missionary and his lackeys were stealing his "offerings" and he wanted to get back at them by spilling their blood. Rayne was currently in the mood for spilling some blood herself, but not human. She wanted to take another slice at the bat creatures. She was now especially excited to encounter Hedrox now. He sounded like a real piece of work and Rayne trumped up the village elder's description of him being "Infinite" as being religious exaggeration.

"Well, I will just have to see about him being "Infinite" then." Rayne said and she flexed out her right Malebranche blade. A collection of gasps were heard coming from the crowd. The village elder just smirked.

"You will see dear… You will see…" Her tone suddenly became dark and ominous, "Arrogance has often led to carelessness and in turn death to many a great warrior from our people. Let's just hope it's not the same for you too…"

Rayne just nodded her head nonchalantly. To her, anything could be killed, even deities. She flexed Malebranche back into its folded position and she walked off towards the jungle. Glenn's shaky sounding voice called out to her. Rayne turned around to see him reaching out towards her, the angry gazes of the Kikunowa people now on him.

"Do… do… do you need help finding the Village of the Reborn?" the young man asked. Rayne looked back towards the pathway leading out of the village and towards the Village of the Reborn. She turned to answer Glenn.

"The Village is just down that path right?"

"Y-yes."

"Then no thank you. I can take it from here."

Just then some familiar growling was heard coming from the darkness within the jungle. No doubt the comrades of the two vampires that Rayne had just killed were wandering what was taking them so long to come back. A Kikunowa woman screamed and she pointed at something and soon all eyes followed the direction that her finger was aimed at. Soon gasps of surprise and shouts of horror filled the air. Standing at the end of the dirt road was another bat creature.

His ears twitched to sounds of the terrified tribe, a small growl grumbling out from its bloodstained, yellow fanged mouth. With his black, beady eyes glistening in the moonlight, the creature looked around the village for something. The creature's nose contracted as he breathed in and out deeply as he tried to pick up a specific scent.

"I wander if he is looking for his friends…?" Rayne thought to herself.

Her hunch proved to be right when the creature's nose began to inhale more rapidly like a foxhound when it caught on to the trail of its quarry. The beast took a small step forward and he turned to his right and found the remnants of his comrades.

"Grrawgh? GRRRRAAAAAAAAA!"

The hissing roar assaulted the air with its high pitch and Rayne had to cover her ears to protect her sensitive eardrums. The creature then turned around and he then bent his knees before rocketing off into the air with a superhuman leap over the treetops. The village elder and shaman began shouting to the villagers to run back to their homes. The tribe did not need to be told twice and they all began to scatter back to their domiciles, fearfully shouting about Hedrox. Mother's and older sisters collected their children or younger siblings and they ran back to their huts at full speed.

Meanwhile, poor Glenn Jessop was left in the dust. He was trembling even harder and to Rayne's surprise, he was even paler than before and he could have been mistaken for a ghost. Rayne thought his skin couldn't get any whiter.

"Glenn!"

A young voice called out to the young man. It was Kuni, the girl he had protected and carried back to the village. She was at the entrance of her home, gesturing to Glenn with her hand. Springing up immediately back onto his feet, Glenn sprinted towards Kuni's hut, words of gratitude echoing all the way.

"That was nice of her." Rayne said to herself.

She then ran towards the dirt road to go after the creature and towards the Village of the Reborn. Trees passed by in quick succession as Rayne continued her run, even passing a few more Hedrox carvings along the way. The road seemed to go on forever and soon Rayne came across a bridge. The floor of the bridge was gone; a large hole was in the middle of it. No doubt the creature from earlier had left it there hoping for Rayne to fall through it.

However, Rayne simply jumped over it and continued on her way. After a half-mile of running, she finally reached the Village of the Reborn. A wooden gateway with a sign depicting a Biblical psalm greeted the dhampir.

"_The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. _

_Nahum 1:7"_

Rayne surveyed what was beyond the gate. Four mud-brick houses with thatched roofs surrounded a dirt "town square" that had a large cross in the center of it. A winding path leading away from the square ended up at a church with stucco walls and wooden poles supporting a thatched roof, and right next to it was the missionary's house and a large dock for supply boats to drop off their cargo. The entire area was littered with human and three bat creature corpses, most of the human ones being male and headless. Blood was splattered everywhere and everything was strangely quiet.

"Am I too late…?" Rayne asked herself aloud. A familiar sinking feeling despair began to quietly fill her being. She remembered that feeling when she couldn't protect the Mortton survivors almost a year ago and how she failed Mynce… Rayne shook her head to rid herself of the depressing thoughts. She began to focus on the corpses.

They were mostly native males but unlike their pagan brethren, these Kikunowa were wearing modern clothes like pants, shirts and dresses. Sprinkled amongst the dark skinned Kikunowa bodies were some Caucasian males. They were dressed in hot weather khaki uniforms, machetes and guns still firmly clutched in their dead, pale hands. They must have been the Australian mercenaries led by Kenny Walters. From all outward appearances, the mercenaries had been outmatched against the bat creatures save for the three were lying dead amongst them.

Rayne knelt down to examine one of the mercenary bodies. The man's head had been cut clean off and his headless neck had a perfectly smooth edge while the bloody interior had teeth marks, undoubtedly from the bat creatures "hand mouths." The scant few bodies of women who still had their heads, their cause of death being caved in chests, skulls or backs. Most of the corpses appeared to have mauled as well.

"Grrrrrrrr…."

Rayne's senses perked up immediately. She instantly got back onto her feet and she retracted Malebranche. Turning on Aura Sense, she saw a multitude of green glowing forms.

"Watch out!" A voice cried out from somewhere in the village.

The forms leapt into the sky all at once in unison into the air. Rayne turned off her Aura Sense as she prepared to face the ambush of bat creatures that was now descending down upon her with claw and fangs bared.

* * *

**Rayne's in for a big battle in the next chapter. I tried finding a Papua New Guinean language in Google Translate but I couldn't find one so that's why there is no foreign dialogue in this one. It may be a while until the next chapter comes, but regardless stay tuned! Thank you for reading and _please review! :)_**


	16. Chapter 15: Dance of Death

**Here is the next chapter! It follows up on the ambush Rayne stumbled into. Will she make it out of this one in? All in one piece? Plus, here some music selections to listen to for the battles in this chapter. Enjoy! :)  
**

**Music List:**

***= "Nier-Blue Bird" by aznzodiac**

****= "Dirge of Cerberus - Arms of Shinra [HQ]" by Cloud183  
**

***/= end of music**

**Author's Note:** **Blood, gore and profanity ahead. **

* * *

*****As a roaring hoard of monsters came swarming down upon Rayne with their claws and fangs ready, Rayne prepared herself for a fierce and very tight battle. As soon as the beasts were coming down, Rayne immediately jumped backwards and the claws of the monsters crashed into the earth. Hissing loudly, the beasts began running towards her. A female bat creature ran towards Rayne and she tried to punch her by thrusting her "fists" towards her target with her claws pointed towards Rayne like spear tips. Rayne, with her cat like reflexes, managed to block each attack with Malebranche.

Another monster appeared at Rayne's right and it rammed her with it's torso. She fell to the ground and another beast appeared with its hand's mouth open and ready to take off the dhampir's head. Rayne quickly rolled away from the strike, only to block another strike with her right sword and catching another strike with her left one. As her arms strained against the strength of the monsters, the same female one from before came sprinting towards Rayne with a malicious, rictus smile on her face; her needle like teeth dripping with salvia. Summoning every once of her vampire strength, Rayne managed to push off the monsters and performed a swift backflip to escape the attack.

In response to her flight, the creatures after her again. Rayne was at a loss. She couldn't take on all of these monsters at once since it was too dangerous thanks to their speed and strength. There had to be some way to pick them off without getting too close to them… Rayne's stiletto then bumped into a handgun that was still tightly clutched in the hand of its headless owner.

Ripping it out from under the dead man's fingers, Rayne began to fire it at the monsters. One bullet struck a male creature in the head, but it only slowed him down as he clutched his forehead in pain and the handgun itself only had three bullets and there were spent very quickly.

"Shit!" Rayne hissed to herself.

She began grab any gun she could find. Much to her luck, she found a Thompson submachine gun and it appeared that the former owner had reloaded it before his untimely demise. Grinning from ear to ear with her newfound metal savior, Rayne hoisted the gun up and she fired a spray of high-powered bullets into the beasts. The creatures halted their frightening advance as a wave of bullets tore into their abdomens and internal organs. Seeing her chance, Rayne ran after the beasts with her blades retracted.

With them, Rayne cut through the horde, gashing their already bloody and gunshot-ridden bodies, disemboweling and cutting off limbs like a hurricane snapping off twigs from trees. A cacophony of surprised shrieks and otherworldly howls of pain began to fill the air. Despite the incredible violence, the feral vampires would not die. Even with the amputations and the fact that some were slipping in their own blood and had their internal organs hanging out in the open air, the creatures were still coming after Rayne, this time with even more determination and a deeper vendetta towards the red-haired dhampir. But their anger would all be for nothing.

Rayne's recent slashing spree had awakened her _Blood Rage_. With a triumphant smirk, Rayne let the power of her vampire side course through her, her eyes turning a vibrant scarlet, her canines extending further out of her gums and her muscles bulking with supernatural strength. Rayne's smirk turned into a fanged grin, making her look like a demon.

"It's party time."

With that, everything in Rayne's sight became red and time slowed down slightly. She could hear the rhythmic thumping of her heartbeat and her instincts spurning her into action. Her red vision soon became more intense by the deluge of crimson that Rayne began to spill. Slices felt like a breeze through a cracked open window as it cut through torsos and limbs; which flew off in droves along with a few heads. The attacks happened so swiftly that some of the creatures didn't even have time to scream.

***/**In a just two minutes, all of the creatures that had ambushed Rayne earlier were now dead. The once intimidating and seemingly unstoppable horde of hissing feral vampires had been reduced to a collection of mutilated and gashed bodies that were now soaking in a pond of their own blood. The roaring from the creatures was now replaced with a still silence. _Blood Rage _subsided and Rayne looked over the death and carnage that she had just caused. She heard a muffled voice repeating something over and over along with the sound of movement.

Looking up from the bloodbath, Rayne saw some dark skinned individuals wearing western clothing emerge cautiously from the church. They all had wide eyes, trembling flesh and their clothes were splattered with blood. There were mostly women and children with a few men scattered amongst them. Rayne walked up to the group, blood droplets falling from Malebranche in trails, the dripping coming from the tips. The Kikunowa converts froze where they stood and some took a step back as Rayne got closer to them.

After she stopped in front of the group, Rayne waited for any of them to speak. But fear held the converts mouths shut and Rayne decided to be the first one to talk.

"Is everyone alright?"

The converts nodded tentatively.

"Who was the one that warned me about those monsters?"

A small voice responded from within the nervous crowd of people.

"I did…"

The crowd parted to reveal a little boy whose mother had her hands protectively on his and his little sister's shoulders. Rayne gave the child a soft look that calmed his frazzled nerves.

"Thanks kid. I appreciated the warning."

The boy blushed, but Rayne could see a small smile form on his lips.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me besides the still waters…"

Rayne looked up to see a figure kneeling in front of the large wooden cross that was at the back of the church. She remembered hearing a quiet voice after she slaughtered the vampires but she didn't really think much of it until now. The woman had long, curly dark brown hair and was wearing a navy blue dress and woven reed sandals. It was Margaret Jessop, Norman Jessop's wife and Glenn's mother. She was pale as a ghost, clasping her hands together so tightly that her crushed knuckles were a bright vermillion and her voice sounded strained from having reciting the Lord is My Shepherd prayer for so long that her voice box was getting tired.

Rayne walked up to her and she gently laid her hand on Margaret's shoulder. She gently shook her.

"Mrs. Jessop, Margaret, the monsters are dead. You don't have to keep praying anymore."

The woman slowly turned to face Rayne. Upon seeing the strangely and scantily clad red haired woman with unearthly green eyes who was also covered in blood caused Margaret to let out a scream. She swiftly skidded away with her feet and the palms of her hands. She stared wide-eyed at Rayne, the whites of her eyes were red and puffy from tears of fear and grief.

"Are you a demon!?" Margaret shouted.

Rayne was not too surprised by the woman's reaction. She had just seen these monsters attack the Village of the Reborn and massacre the other converts and Australian mercenaries with ease. Margaret's mind was undoubtedly broken. Even though Margaret was there at the church, Rayne did not see her husband Norman anywhere. She wanted to grill him for more details on the attacks.

"No, I am not. I was sent here to investigate the vampire attacks that are going on here. Now Mrs. Jessop, where is your husband? I need to talk to you two more about these attacks."

Rayne spoke in a soothing and respectful tone in the hopes that it would calm down Margaret. However, no such luck was to be found. The mentioning of her husband's name caused Margaret to break out in hysterics. She suddenly grabbed her face with both her hands and began to weep profusely. A male convert spoke up.

"Father Jessop was taken by Hedrox. He came down and snatched him up right in front of this church."

"Where did he take him?" Rayne asked, soon realizing the very obvious answer too late.

The convert pointed towards a high, forest covered mountain close by to the Village of the Reborn.

"That is Hedrox's Mountain. That is his home. Only priests and sacrifices are allowed to walk in its shadow… That is, until Reverend Jessop had us mine the mountain for those red stones that he valued so much."

Rayne looked towards the mountain. She had seen it from the ferry earlier. She wondered what it would be like inside. According to what Chet and the ferry captain said, Glenn had found a ruby near the mountain the resulting mine was very bountiful. Speaking of Glenn…

"Hey, Mrs. Jessop…" Rayne said carefully as Margaret continued to weep for her missing husband. But now her crying was peppered with religious phrases and something about the "savages" and "unbelievers" who were supposedly responsible for her current predicament.

"Damn them… Damn them all to Hell!" Margaret shrieked suddenly, her cheeks sanguine, her dark brown hair stuck to her moistened cheeks like coiled vines and her eyes were swollen with tears. Rayne was taken aback from the shout and her patience was beginning to wane very quickly.

"Margaret! Get a hold of yourself and listen to me!" Rayne suddenly shouted and the woman stopped her wailing and looked at Rayne with innocent looking eyes. She was clearly very frazzled and may have been close to tipping over into insanity due to her recent trauma. After getting her attention, Rayne let out a sigh of relief and she spoke in a much calmer tone of voice.

"Margaret, your son Glenn is alive."

Margaret's eyes became wide with surprise and a cacophony of gasps was heard coming from the converts.

"My…my son is alive?" Margaret asked softly.

"Yes, he is alive ma'am. He ran into the village near here with a young girl named Kuni."

"My little girl is alive!?"

A surprised female voice echoed from the group and soon a young woman wearing a pale green, worn dress appeared. Rayne could see a great deal of Kuni's likeness in the woman's face.

"Yes she is. She is with her father."

Kuni's mother looked relieved but at the time she looked nervous. Undoubtedly, she was going to have a very interesting meeting with her warrior husband when she was going to see him and her daughter after this nightmare was over. With the Kikunowa apparently being a patriarchal society (with the female elder being an exception), the woman was probably going to have to return to the much stricter, traditional female subservience observed in the Kinkunowa, as it was the norm in most tribal societies. The whole reason she and her daughter converted to Christianity was because she wanted more freedom and more respect. Margaret stirred from her shock.

"Glenn went back to the Kikunowa village? Is he crazy?!"

Margaret suddenly stood up, her once grieving eyes now boiling with rage.

"Those ungrateful savages are probably cutting him up for their cooking fires as we speak! How could you leave him alone with those heathens?!"

Margaret's response really pissed off Rayne. Those "ungrateful" savages did in the end, courtesy of Kuni, give Glenn safe haven.

"Listen Margaret—" Rayne was about to put the woman in her place when a loud and very familiar roar shook the jungle air, rattling the palm fronds on the church roof. It was from one of the feral vampires, but this one was significantly deeper and sounded more like a hiss. Everyone in the church froze where they stood. Rayne immediately turned on her _Aura Vision _to find how many enemies were coming after her this time. She didn't have to wait too long this time.

A large ball of blue light suddenly appeared above the roof and something smashed through the wood pole rafters and palm frond roofing with a loud crash.

"Shit!" Rayne exclaimed as she turned her head away from the flying splinters and small cloud of dust that emerged from the new vampiric intruder. Screams of terror began to erupt from the group. As the dust cleared, Rayne turned to see who the newcomer was. It was a feral vampire, except it was significantly larger than the ones that Rayne had seen earlier. A rattling noise came from the beast and she turned to face the congregation, Rayne got to see where the sound was coming from.

It was coming from three age browned skulls that were dangling from three reed strings attached to a palm frond "poncho" that covered the monster's chest. Judging from the slenderness of the body, Rayne speculated that the monster was female. Her talons were curved like a crescent moon and what appeared to be a circlet made of what appeared to be human vertebrae that had feathers and beads on leather strings decorating it. The most startling aspect about the beast was her eyes; unlike the rest of her ilk, the creature had ones that glowed sky blue. She was an impressive specimen.

However, the moment she locked eyes with Rayne, the creature charged at her with lighting speed. The attack was so quick in fact that Rayne didn't have time to dodge her and she was sent flying backward out of the church. As she skidded on the grass and dirt, more monsters began to appear. The screaming increased in intensity and people began to run away from the church. The creatures obviously began to follow them.

Rayne looked up to see the blue-eyed monster looming over her. But Rayne didn't hold her attention for too long as the creature turned around to look directly at Margaret. The poor woman gasped and she stood up and began to back away. The creature folded all of her claws into her palm, leaving only her middle "index finger" pointing at the missionary wife. She then spoke in a strange language similar to the one that Rayne had heard the Kikunowa speak earlier and four monsters appeared and they sauntered towards Margaret with malicious intent.

The same boy that had warned Rayne from earlier suddenly ran towards Margaret, bravely bypassing the creatures to grab her hand. Margaret in return grabbed the boy and threw him in front of the beasts before taking off herself. However, the creatures were not interested in the child, and one of them even stepped over him as they sprinted after Margaret. They easily caught up to her and knocked her down. Margaret tried to crawl away but a monster jumped onto her back, his weight crushing her spine and Margaret let out a scream of pain.

The vampire then sank his fangs into the back of her neck and his comrades joined him in feasting upon the woman. The sounds of them tearing her apart mixed in finely with the chaos that was going on all around the "feast" that the vampires were having. Rayne couldn't help Margaret but seeing what she tried to do to the boy, she didn't feel too bad about not saving her. The blue-eyed monster looked on with a proud/smug expression and she let out a small laugh.

"Hmph… Serves her right…"

The vampire had spoken English! And strangely it had an Australian accent to it as well. The creature's mouth was not in sync with her words but it was still freaky and amazing at the same time.

"You can speak English?!" Rayne asked in surprise. The blue-eyed monster turned to look at Rayne, this time the sky blue glow was gone from her eye's and Rayne could see that the irises were a deep ocean blue color.

"Yes, I can speak the language of humans. But only after I devour their heads. Not only do I gain the ability to speak their tongue, I can also take their memories and knowledge as well..."

She came closer to Rayne.

"And speaking of knowledge, allow me to enlighten you about who I am," the creature straightened her back and shoulders and she spoke with a powerful voice. "I am Jiyala the Beautiful; the mistress of Hedrox the Infinite, mother of his three heirs and the queen of the vampires of this region."

"Nice." Rayne said apathetically as she got up and dusted herself off. She then retracted Malebranche. Jiyala stopped walking and she stared at the blades. Anger began to vibrate under her eyes.

"You dare to raise your blades against me?"

Jiyala then grinned, showing all of her bloodstained teeth.

"I just sent you flying out of that church like a parrot. Just imagine what else I can do to you…"

Jiyala flexed out her crescent moon claws, the mouths on her palms opened up and began gnashing their teeth together in anticipation of eating Rayne's head. Rayne just jilted her head up at the remark.

"Look JiJi or Jiyala… I don't care that you are the Queen of Vampires here Papua New Guinea. You could be the Queen of the Sewer Rats in New York and I still wouldn't give a damn. You are going to go down like any other monster I have come across…"

Upon hearing those words, Jiyala smirked. She then hunched her back and leered arrogantly at Rayne.

"Shall we dance?"

"Thought you would never ask…" Rayne replied with a smirk.

******And then the two clashed. Jiyala sent her right fist flying towards Rayne, who quickly sidestepped the attack. She then sent an uppercut slash under Jiyala's right arm. However, Malebranch did not go through the whole way and it only made a small gash. In response, Jiyala swiftly swiveled around with her left arm for a backhanded strike.

Rayne ducked in time but she didn't anticipate Jiyala kicking her. The clawed toes scratched Rayne's chest and the force of the attack sent her flying. Jiyala then jumped on Rayne, staking her powerful arms on both sides of her target. She opened her mouth to bite Rayne when the latter sent Malebranche through Jiyala's throat and right breast. The blades only pierced the flesh by a few inches but they were enough to startle Jiyala and caused her to get off of Rayne.

Rayne quickly got up onto her feet and she jumped up and rammed both her stiletto heels into Jiyala's poncho and chest. The force of the kick was enough for Jiyala topple over backwards with Rayne still attached to her torso. Feeling triumphant, Rayne swung the blade on her right arm towards Jiyala's face in order to slash it, however, Jiyala grabbed the sword with her teeth. Her jaws were extremely powerful and Rayne had a difficult time just trying to wiggle the blade out Jiyala's fangs. Rayne sent her left blade to stab Jiyala in the shoulder.

Before the blade could even be thrusted, Jiyala used her massive crescent clawed hand to grab Rayne, taking her completely by surprise. Then in one swift movement, Jiyala began to squeeze Rayne's chest with a great deal of pressure. Rayne could feel her ribs bending under the crushing weight of Jiyala's claws and she thought that her bones were just a minute away from snapping. Despite the intense pain, Rayne took the opportunity to stab Jiyala's left eye with her right blade. This time, the blade went through much deeper than it did in Jiyala's skin.

Jiyala let out an agonized howl of pain and surprise and she threw Rayne away from her to prevent more injuries. Rayne righted herself in midair and she landed on her feet. She immediately ran back towards the Queen of the Feral Vampires and as soon as Jiyala saw her again with her only good eye, she sent out a powerful left jab, her curved claws splayed out like the arms of starfish so that the points could prick her target's flesh and to grab her head so she could devour it. However, Rayne quickly dodged the attack and she slid under the flying arm. As she slid across the grass, Rayne extended out her left Malebranche blade and she cut off Jiyala's left leg, cutting her knee in half.

Losing balance, Jiyala stopped her fall by planting her massive clawed hands into the ground. Even as blood was streaming down from her left eye and now dripping quickly from her left thigh, all Jiyala could think about was how she, the Mistress of Hedrox, could become so mutilated after a fight with this supernatural woman. Seeing her chance, Rayne got up to decapitate Jiyala. However, the other Feral Vampires, apparently growing bored killing people and chasing around women and children, which oddly enough the latter two were left largely alone, the creatures took notice of their queen's plight and they immediately rushed to her aid. Rayne saw one female creature leap up into the air with her left fist raised, preparing to strike.

Rayne quickly got out of the way just in time as the creature struck the spot where Rayne had just been standing with enough force to leave a small crater. Several more creatures appeared and the female one went after Rayne. Thanks to her reflexes, Rayne managed to dodge an 'X' shaped claw attack while at the same time she grabbed the creature's right bicep, swung her legs up over the monster's back so that she could use her calves and heels to grab the left bicep. With both arms immobilized, Rayne balanced herself with her left arm folded outward from her body and by putting all of her weight onto her right side; she performed a technique known as a crucifix driver (or scissored arm bar). With her vampire strength, Rayne was able to lift the creature up off her feet and into a backflip and smashing her head and neck into the ground.

A loud sound similar to an egg cracking was heard and the vampire became very still and blood began to pour out of her ears. Despite seeing had just happened, two male creatures came charging towards Rayne, their bone needle ornaments jangling about on their flesh. However, the creatures were in for a surprise. From all of the bloodshed that Rayne had caused, she could now use _Blood Rage_. Before the creature's attacks could land on Rayne, her eyes glowed red and she sliced off their hands as they came down upon her and after this amputation, Rayne effortlessly cut up the monsters.

Seeing her clan getting massacred, Jiyala pointed her muzzle towards the night sky and she let out a big cat roar. Rayne turned around, eyes still red from _Blood Rage_, and she noticed the way Jiyala was roaring, it was like she calling for reinforcements. Rayne ran towards her in order to finish the Mistress off once and for all. However, Jiyala managed to jump out of the way even though she now had one leg to support herself. Rayne went after her again but each time she got close enough to strike, Jiyala would jump out of the way.

Soon a bizarre sound filled the air. It was a hollow, haunting sound that sounded like it was coming from a demonic beast. Rayne and Jiyala looked into the horizon from Hedrox's Mountain, the two could see something emerge from the mountain. _Aura Vision _revealed that there were several of those something's and that they looked like giant bats. Jiyala looked at Rayne with her one good blue eye and smirked.

"Hedrox's pets. They are coming to my aid…"

Wanting to turn Jiyala's arrogant look into one of terror again, Rayne came after her, only to realize that her _Blood Rage _had subsided. Not wanting that to get in the way of killing Jiyala, Rayne charged after her nonetheless. Jiyala simply sidestepped the attack and she jumped away, landing right next to the church that she had crashed through earlier. Rayne ran after her, only to narrowly avoid a screaming giant bat descending down upon her. Soon four more of them appeared and they surrounded Rayne.

The man-sized creatures (but they were not as big as Patricia's bat form)stared at her with beady little eyes; their faces were skull-like and large stomachs that looked big enough to digest a large dog for their supper. The wingspan was very impressive too; they looked to be longer than a grown alligator on both sides. Upon seeing that Rayne was being "taken care of" by her "pets", Jiyala rallied her surviving clan members and they escaped into the jungle. One of the Giant Bats came charging towards Rayne with its mouth open, however, Rayne simply grabbed it from under its jaw, lifted up its head and she beheaded it with one swift cut. After that, Rayne quickly sidestepped the other beasts as they came at her, hissing angrily.

Unlike the Feral Vampires, the Giant Bats were easier to handle since their skin was much softer and thus easily sliced through. Rayne ran towards the massacred mercenaries and she picked up their guns, feeling happy when she felt the weight in the firearms. She fired several rounds from the two handguns she picked up, easily killing the flying bats as the bullets entered their heads and throats. Now that three were down, only two more creatures were left. However, it was hardly a fair fight.

One of the surviving Bats was on the ground writhing in pain with one of its wings rendered useless, blood coming out of its mouth and chest. The other one was flying around Rayne, this time at a much higher altitude and only descending for a powerful strafing attack that was easily avoidable. Taking the time to walk over and finish off the Bat with the damaged wing by staking its brain with a blade, Rayne then turned her attention towards the sole surviving creature. It was now just circling over Rayne, hissing angrily and looking very nervous. So nervous in fact that the Bat turned around to fly away back to its master's mountain.

"Oh no you're not buddy…" Rayne said. She ran towards the creature's direction, jumped onto the roof of a house and subsequently leapt up into the air. She flicked her left wrist and she sent the harpoon flying. The hook embedded itself into the Bat's back and Rayne used all of her strength to pull it back and to throw it onto the Village Square. Dazed from the attack, the Bat Creature slowly began to stand up when Rayne jumped down from the roof and she walked towards the beast as she retracted the harpoon.

As soon as the Giant Bat was close enough, Rayne drove her right Malebranche into the creature's throat and she sliced upwards into the sky. With that done, the area was silent again. A small group of people began to emerge from their houses. The converts walked out very hesitantly. They were all wide eyed and absolutely terrified.

***/**Despite having been preoccupied with Jiyala, Rayne noticed that not too many of the converts had been killed off. It was mostly just the women and the children. Rayne had noticed how the Feral Vampires seemed to avoid children and the woman who held them close. Thankfully, the boy and his family had survived along with Kuni's mother.

"Th-thank you miss…" It was the mother of the boy who had warned Rayne earlier.

"Your welcome." Rayne said, "Is everyone alright here? I didn't count you guys before I came so can one of you do a head count for me please?"

The woman gave Rayne a perplexed look.

"I can't count that well… Only up to ten."

"I'll do it," the woman's young daughter said. "I like to count. There were only eight of us before and now there are four…"

The girl trailed off into a haunting, mournful stare as she looked towards the ground. She appeared to have shell shock.

"One of the monsters killed auntie…" she said quietly to herself. Her mother squeezed her closely to comfort her and her big brother held her hand tightly too, the same haunting look was in his eyes too. Seeing the pain in the children's eyes brought Rayne back to the aftermath of her family's murder all those years ago. When the parents of Rayne's great-grandparents maid Annie came by to inquire if their daughter had spent the night at their cottage and they found the mutilated bodies of Rayne's grandfather James, her uncle Conner and their precious daughter Annie outside and how they sprinted away to get the authorities.

The policeman coming into the cottage, the horrible, bloody scene making them pale and sick, with even some of the policeman going outside to vomit. The chief of police finding Rayne sitting next to her mother's corpse, gently rubbing her head with a blank, unfeeling look in her eyes… Suppressing his tears, the police chief gently picked up the traumatized girl and took her outside into the summer air telling, her all the while to keep her eyes closed until they were in his car. She could still hear Annie's mother wailing and her father holding her and just staring off into space, trying not to lose his composure. She remembered trying to tell the police what had happened, saying that vampires did it and how they didn't believe her, having a psychiatrist examine her.

The man then told the police that Rayne's version of events was a product of a traumatized mind and of a ten-year-old girl's imagination. The bite marks on her mother Eliza's neck being inflicted by a perverse and macabre killer. Rayne felt a deep anger well up inside of her and she clenched her hands into fists.

"Listen, go back to the Kikunowa Village. I am going to go the mountain…"

As Rayne was about to head off, another voice called out to her. It was the same man that had pointed out the mountain to Rayne earlier. Despite the vampires' preference for males and apparently childless women, he had survived. Rayne noticed a charm necklace around his neck; decorated with small wooden talismans, colored beads and wild boar tusks. Despite being a convert, the man was still true to his original tribal faith and speaking of which, he did have some resemblance to the shaman back at the Kikunowa Village…

"There is a path to the mountain that you can take. Its just behind the church you can't miss it. We all used it to get to and from the ruby mines at the mountain…"

"Thanks, now get back to the village and stay there! Don't come out unless I return or when dawn comes."

The man nodded and then he followed the survivors back to the village, the amulets on his necklace rattling with the beads as he ran. Rayne then took off towards the mountain. She found the path and raced down it. It was quite a distance, Rayne thought it was a mile or more but she wasn't sure. Just above the dark canopy of trees, Rayne saw the brilliant glow of electric lights.

It was curious sight but nonetheless, Rayne didn't have to use _Aura Sense _to find out whether she was getting closer to the mine. Soon Rayne came across a large wood and thatched roof longhouse and a small open-air hut used for cooking; discernible by a makeshift grill and two long wooden boards balancing on two rusted metal oil drums. Corpses littered this area as well. They were mostly Caucasian and Rayne concluded that this was where Kenny Walter's mercenary group lived. Just like before, most of these cadavers were missing their heads.

Besides the corpses, there were also several opened wooden crates packed with straw and filled with guns and even a few with grenades and dynamite. Rayne felt like a little kid in a candy store. After collecting two handguns, one sub-machine gun, three grenades and two sticks of dynamite (and also a matchbook that was found in the pocket of one of the bodies, which also smelled heavily of cigarette smoke) and then strapping them onto her body by using some holsters, belts and machine gun sashes, Rayne marched onward beyond the Mercenary Camp. The electric lights grew brighter and brighter, until Rayne crossed a bridge and came across a large clearing at the foot of Hedrox's Mountain, which was crowded with wooden boxes labeled "Explosives!" pick axes leaning against barrels, baskets filled with dirty stones, rocks studded with glittering rubies and pieces of quartz along with pure, "unblemished" stones. Most of the baskets were located at an open-air structure that had a large stone pile.

It was a makeshift cutting and polishing station; and the pile was made up of stones that did not have any rubies in them. Scattered all over the area were more bloody bodies. Rayne could hear the sound of metal creaking and she looked to her left. She saw a large metal wheel attached to device that was converting water from a small creek into hydroelectric power to energize a generator that was in turn powering the electric lights at the mine. Everything else was still.

Rayne was on guard and she flexed out Malebranche in anticipation of another ambush. She put on _Aura Sense _to look for the creatures. Instead of numerous pulsing green lights, Rayne saw a single one hiding behind the rock pile by the cutting shack. Rayne quietly jogged up to the pile and she circled the rock pile. She soon saw that the figure was a man sitting with his legs splayed out in front of him, large streams of blood staining the left side of his khaki shorts and shirt.

The man's left arm was folded against the source of the blood, a large gash on the left side of his chest, just below his ribs. His left arm and hand was shining with sticky, dried blood and it looked like the limb was glued to his chest due to the coagulated liquid. The man looked very pale and his red mustache and hair stood out against his milk white skin. Rayne turned on her _Aura Sense _to see that the man was still, unbelievably, still alive. He was taking very shallow and spaced out breaths.

Rayne was torn between trying to help the man or just simply euthanizing him right then and there. Choosing to try the former first before making any other choice, Rayne reached out her hand to gently touch his shoulder. Just as her fingers were an inch away from his shoulder, the man suddenly opened his eyes and shoved a handgun into her face.

* * *

**Rayne just can't catch a break can she? Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter, thank you for reading and _please review! :) _  
**


	17. Chapter 16: Wrath

_**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I graduated from college last month, been looking for employment and have been attending a final summer class. Plus writer's block has gotten in the way several times. But, I have finally managed to crank out a chapter. Maybe this will give me back my spark! Enjoy! **_

**Author's Note: ****Blood, gore and profanity**

* * *

_**Hedrox's Mountain**_

_**The Ruby Mine**_

"Whoa!" Rayne said in surprise at the gun that was aimed at her.

"Don't you come any fucking closer…" The man warned in a thick Australian accent.

After her surprise had died down, Rayne just shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, have it your way. I was just trying to help you."

The man still kept his gun trained on her, his blue eyes overflowing with suspicion and tension.

"Just wanted to "help" me eh? You were going to "help" me with those two huge, blood soaked blades you got on your arms on me weren't you sheila?"

"Not at first. But since I can now see that you are still lively, I don't have to use them."

Rayne felt that honesty was the best solution. The man smirked and he lowered his gun.

"I look that bad huh?"

"Yeah. I thought you were dead at first."

The man laughed.

"You're not too far off with that fact sheila. I might as well be dead thanks to this damn wound."

He then looked down at the gash on his chest and the large scarlet stain on his clothes. He tried moving his arm but winced as he felt his pain from both his wound and the skin of his arm being pulled from being stuck to the adhesive quality of his coagulated blood.

"HHHHHHHHTTTHHHHH! Damn it! This hurts!"

The man tried to stand up.

"Do you need help?" Rayne asked.

"No, I've got this…"

After a few shaky movements, the man managed to get back on his feet and pick himself up using his right hand. He stumbled a little as he stood, a look of nausea on his sweaty, pale face.

"Ugh Christ… If you still want to kill me sheila, do it now. I feel like shit…"

Rayne gave him a look.

"Are you sure about that?"

The man laughed again.

"No, I was just kidding. For now anyway… I've got to stay living. Not for my own preservation, but for someone back home in Queensland."

"Just curious, but who are you?" Rayne asked.

"Kenneth Walters… But my mates and the *****coppers back home call me Kenny."

Kenny Walters, that was man that the ferry captain and Chet mentioned earlier on Rayne's trip up the river. The one who slashed a man with a broken bottle and then bashed his head into the edge of a pool table until it burst open like a balloon in a bar in Australia.

"So you're the guy that killed that other man back home in Down Under at the bar because he looked at you funny?"

Kenny gave Rayne a look.

"Where in the blazes did you hear that from?"

"Some idiots who ferried me here."

"Well, you have the right to call them idiots sheila because I may have killed the bastard, I didn't do it because he looked at me funny."

"Then why did you… overkill him then?"

"Well its simple, I recognized him as one of the sons of bitches that took my little girl away from me and my wife."

Rayne was taken aback by this.

"What? Why?"

"Well for starters, I am married to an Aboriginal woman and we ended up having a little mixed girl we named Maisie…"

The mention of her name softened Kenny's tone and his eyes darkened.

"She was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my pathetic, crap life. It was just the three of us; Maisie and my wife and I living in Queensland outside of my wife's hometown. But then because of the stupid ******"Half-Caste Laws," these government bastards came to my house one evening when I was sick as a dog and they took my little girl away from us…"

Kenny looked both infuriated and heartbroken at the same time.

"I tried to fight them off, but I was too sick and a copper knocked me down. My poor wife Queenie tried to run away with our daughter to her family's church for sanctuary, but the authorities caught up to her and ripped Maisie out of her arms…"

"Why did they take your kid?" Rayne asked.

Kenny chuckled darkly and spat into the dirt.

"Because Australia's piece of shit government deems half-breeds as well as pure blooded Aborigines as a "threat" to white society. They took Maisie away from her family because she needed to be "raised right" by a "proper" white family… Turn her into a dull, frilly little girl who curtsies and has tea parties with her shallow friends or to train her on how to be a maid for rich households, whatever the system thinks will get rid of her "savage" side…"

"That's bullshit…" Rayne said and Kenny nodded in agreement.

"Damn right it is! After Maisie was taken away, my wife couldn't stop crying and she became bedridden with grief and my in-laws went bonkers. I started drinking heavily and that's when I saw that son of a bitch at the bar…"

Kenny increased the grip on his handgun.

"I lost it and it all happened so quickly… There was blood everywhere and some blokes tried to tackle me but one of my mates scared them off with gunshots and we both high-tailed out of there. I don't regret it though… That bastard had it coming…"

"How old is your daughter?" Rayne asked.

"Six, she will be turning seven next month."

"You do realize that you're not helping her from here right?"

Kenny gave Rayne a hard look.

"Yes I know. But I had an idea. The wife of a friend of mine sent me a letter saying that she found the family that is fostering Maisie. The Yankee preacher here wanted me to protect his mine from the unconverted natives since this place is their sacred area and so he hired me and my mercenary band to do the job. I was planning on taking some of these rubies back so I can bribe the foster parents that have Maisie into giving her back to me…"

Rayne looked around.

"I can see that your plan hasn't worked out as planned so far…" she said.

Kenny laughed.

"You can say that again! Those blood sucking bastards started showing up a few nights ago and let me tell you sheila, they are the meanest fuckers that I have ever come across! They have been butchering us left and right and my men and I have been barely able to take them down!"

"I have seen that," Rayne said. "They are quite resilient."

"Yeah tell me about it." Kenny said. "I think it all started when Reverend Jessop tried to have those creepy mummies removed from the alcoves on this mountain here."

Kenny gestured up towards the mountain and Rayne squinted to see some large natural gashes in the mountain and with her superior sight, she could see that in the natural alcoves were what appeared to be wooden scaffolding holding slender, shriveled figures. Crude wooden ladders led up to the holes. She also couldn't see the mummies heads.

"What are those?" Rayne asked.

"From what I remember hearing from my one native Papua New Guinean bloke, those mummies are the former sacrifices to the Kikunowa god, Hedrox. After the king blood sucker takes their heads, priests mummify the victim by smoking their body and then placing them up in those caves as a final offering to Hedrox and so that they can act as guardians for the village. Jessop wanted them removed since they were, in his words, "grotesque, pagan idols" but some of the natives resisted. Jessop compromised by asking his converts to remove the ladders so that nobody could get to the bodies and that they should prayer for their souls for having been a victim of a "false religion"…"

"Heh… No wonder why Hedrox is so upset right now. Shit load of sacrilege going on around here."

"You can say that, but if there was one thing that Jessop and I agreed on, it's that those mummies are fucking creepy." Kenny said, "They don't have their heads but its like they are still staring at you anyway…"

As Rayne gazed at the mummies, she couldn't help but agree with what Kenny had said. It was as if the dried corpses were staring at her with invisible eyes from beyond the grave. A low guttural growl disturbed Rayne from her entrancement. That hair-raising noise was soon followed by a series of hisses and more growls. Kenny, despite his injury, immediately erected himself in high alert.

Rayne simply sighed.

"I really got to start paying more attention to my surroundings here…" Rayne said to herself out loud as she retracted Malebranche for another skirmish with the Feral Vampires.

Soon the beasts began to emerge from the shadow of the mountain, sneaking out from smaller crevices and caverns from elsewhere around their gigantic home. With the impressive muscle strength in their legs, some of the creatures were able to jump from the mountain and land in the mine clearing with ease and no injury, two even landing on top of the cutting and polishing shed. Soon they had surrounded the gravely wounded mercenary and the lethal dhampir warrior that had been picking them off with frightening efficiency. Kenny held out his gun towards the encroaching beasts, swinging the firearm about wildly in anticipation of a sneak attack. The vampires didn't do anything, yet, but they began to back away a little bit from Kenny when they caught a glance of Rayne's now glowing scarlet eyes.

"Why don't you blood suckers leave him alone? He's been through enough and it wouldn't be fair to take on somebody who is already injured."

The creatures seemed to have understood her words and they began to make an opening to allow the Australian to leave unharmed. Kenny walked out hesitantly, still gripping his left side.

"Can't you run?" Rayne shouted.

"A little. Good idea!" Kenny said and he took off.

After he escaped, the Feral Vampires then turned their attention towards Rayne. She simply just smirked at them.

"You guys really want to do this? Didn't you see what happened to your friends earlier?" Rayne said and she held up Malebranche for added effect. Instead of terrifying them, the vampires instead replied with angry hisses and they advanced further with determination. They were not afraid to die and they were quite angry. Rayne began to feel a pang of regret for her choice of words. There were more of the Feral Vampires, including a few of the Giant Bats that were eyeing her from the roof of the polishing shed with glowing red eyes.

The circle around Rayne began to shrink as they approached her. To make matters worse, Rayne couldn't use her Blood Rage. She had spent the majority of her energy against the last horde of Feral Vampires she faced at the Village of the Reborn. Any move she were to make now against them would be instantly retaliated against and Rayne would have been overpowered instantly. For a moment, Rayne felt a twinge of fear began to fill her being.

As the now tiny circle began to reek with the foul odor of the Feral Vampires breath and sweat, a gunshot rang out. One of the creatures grunted with pain and all eyes turned towards the direction of the jungle. Rayne couldn't see what the beasts were looking at but a familiar voice rang out over the still air told her who it was.

"Oy, look over here you bloodsucking shitheads! Come and get me!"

Kenny Walters fired off another shot at one of the creatures and several of them bolted after the wounded man whose left arm was still stuck to his own blood. As he ran off with a group of the enraged beasts after them, Rayne took advantage of the distraction to escape her now conveniently opened corral of Feral Vampires. Rayne jumped away from the creatures and she brought out her handguns. Just as the vampires recovered from their shock, Rayne opened fire on them. Enraged, the Feral Vampires chased after Rayne. Some of them jumped towards her with their superhuman leaps but Rayne was able to evade their crashing feet and fists with ease.

When her handguns were depleted, Rayne simply threw them aside and began slicing and dicing with Malebranche. The slender, razor sharp blades cut through the muscles and bones of Rayne's enemies with grand ease. Ducking under swinging arms and legs, Rayne maneuvered around the Feral Vampires as she slashed their legs and stomachs and cut off a few claws while she was at it. Some of the Giant Bats took to the air and one of them almost grabbed Rayne but she dodged it just in time.

"Hmmm…"

An idea sprang into Rayne's head. A sly little smile appeared on her lips and when she saw the next Giant Bat making a curve in the air towards her, she suddenly got up to her feet and she jumped, avoiding a clawed strike from a Feral Vampire. Just as soon as she was canopy level, Rayne shot out her harpoon and she hooked the Giant Bat coming towards her. The Bat let out a loud hiss of surprise and Rayne pulled it back towards her so that it would be rammed into her spiked heels. After kicking it away, Rayne then extended more of the harpoon's chain and she grabbed the link.

When she landed, Rayne then extended more chain out and she swung the giant bat around like a wrecking ball at the Feral Vampires. After the Feral Vampires had all been knocked down, Rayne brought the now sore and exhausted Bat over to her and she sliced off its head. As the Feral Vampires that were knocked down by Rayne's Giant Bat swinging mace, she looked towards them with at first a look of indifference. That look soon became one of pure smugness. As some of the Vampires began to back away, Rayne began to march towards them with Malebranche out, her eyes glowing red, ready to initiate Blood Rage.

_Meanwhile…_

Blindly running through the jungle, Kenny Walters cursed himself and his luck for making the decisions that led to this dilemma he was now currently in. The uneven terrain of the jungle floor wreaked havoc on the worn soles of his boots. The growling and hissing noises coming from behind along with the sound of the jungle underbrush being trampled and torn aside by the Feral Vampires tormented his ears. His handgun did not have much effect on the beasts so running was his best option but he didn't know how long that would last. With his heartbeat pulsing with the speed of a race-car, Kenny sprinted even harder.

"Keeping some of these bastards busy should help that redheaded sheila. It's the least I could do for her…" Kenny thought to himself.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and goosebumps began to break out all over Kenny's skin. Following his instincts, the mercenary looked to his right and he saw the white form of one of the creatures trying to blindside him, her mouth open and showing all of her teeth and slobber. Kenny quickly fired a shot into the beast's open mouth. A spray of blood erupted from the back of her head and the creature stopped as she gargled with pain.

"For fuck sake! When will goddamn nightmare end?!" Kenny shouted aloud desperately.

The sound of a powerfully surging river filled Kenny's ears and it overpowered the angry sounds of his supernatural pursuers. A few moments later, he came upon the banks of the vast river. A waterfall crashed down in the river the water flowed over the rocks and left white, bubbly frames around the larger, more exposed, ones. However, those stones were way out of Kenny's range and he was stuck at the riverbank. He sank to his knees in despair.

"No… This can't be… God, no, this can't be it…"

The movement behind him slowed down as the Feral Vampires began to confidently approached him. Their growls turned to deep chortles of triumph as their zealous chase was now reaching its conclusion. Kenny got back up to his feet and simply turned towards the vampires, fixing them with a glare that was filled with the bitterest hatred that they had ever seen. The glare caused the group to stop slightly and to stare at their target. Kenny then brought his gun to his right temple.

"Come on, come and get me. Get close to me and I will blow my own brains out. Let's see if good ole Hedrox likes a side of lead with his brains."

He cocked the hammer, demonstrating the creatures his resolve to commit suicide to deny Hedrox his prize. The creatures, looked at each other and they began to back away into the shadows of the jungle. Distant sounds of demonic screaming echoed over the jungle canopy and the beasts ran back towards the ruby mine. As soon as they were gone, Kenneth collapsed onto his knees. He breathed heavily and tears of joy began to flow from his eyes.

He had survived.

He then fell onto his back and began thanking God for his miraculous luck.

"I lived… I fucking lived!"

Gunshots rang out in the distance but Kenny continued to stare up at the starry sky above.

"_That shiela must be massacring those bastards. She sounds like a very capable fighter." Kenny said to himself. "I can't go back to the mine, I don't even know what direction I ran in. It's very obvious that she can handle herself now. When I get back to Queensland, I will try to recreate my mercenary band and if I ever see that sheila again, I will offer her a position in my group._"

Kenny then shook his head.

"_No, when I get Maisie back, I am quitting this life of mine and I will take her and Queenie, and maybe her parents, out of that bumfuck town of Gayton. We will move to that island off the coast of New South Wales, the one where one of Queenie's cousins lives on with her family. The mission there has a school that Maisie can go to and a basket weaving place that Queenie can work at. I can become a fisherman and catch fish for the mainland markets. It will be a peaceful life for everyone. Maisie will never be separated from us again…_

_I shall swear upon that with all my heart…_"

A shadowy figure appeared over the jungle canopy. The figure landed at Kenny's feet and before he could react, a giant clawed hand descended upon his head. Kenny was still screaming when the teeth in the hand's mouth bit through his neck and decapitated him.

_….._

Covered in blood splatter from his fallen comrades, the male Feral Vampire let out howl of rage and it went after the red haired dhampir. Sliding out her left blade from the gashed neck of one the creatures, Rayne turned to see the oncoming vampire. In one quick motion, she dodged the onslaught of claws and she behind the beast and jumped on his back. With her legs wrapped around his torso, Rayne dug her fangs into the jugular vein that pressing up against the white fur covered skin and she began to drink. Unlike the female vampire from the Kikunowa Village, the male vampire took a little longer to drain due to his height and size.

Rayne had to dig her long black nails into the vampire's collarbone and pectoral muscle in order to hold on as he struggled. But no matter how hard he struggled, his death came eventually. Lethargy took over and finally, before he fell, Rayne jumped off of him and let the creature's body collapse into the blood soaked ground. Rayne looked at her handiwork with pride. Not only had she slaughtered more Feral Vampires and Giant Bats, she had also finally managed to get an intact male specimen for Brimstone to study when it was taken to England along with the female corpse. Pleased with herself, Rayne turned towards the ruby mine.

Then she thought of Kenny. Without his distraction, she probably would not have been able to survive that confrontation and she wanted to thank him immensely for helping her out. He had run into the jungle with several Feral Vampires hot on his tail. Rayne wasn't sure if he was alive or not, but she did see those vampires coming out of the jungle. Turning on her _Aura Sense_, Rayne saw a strange anomaly.

There were two sky blue, pulsing lights in the now dark expanse of jungle. One slightly large one was stationary yet radiating like the sun while the second light was much smaller and it was moving and very rapidly for that matter. The light turned towards Rayne's direction and it came barreling towards her. Suddenly, the light jumped over the forest canopy and Rayne had to jump away from the incoming "light." The leaper landed on top of a corpse of a female vampire, crushing her bones into dust and sending out a shock-wave that caused the other bodies and amputated limbs to become airborne briefly.

Turning off her _Aura Sense, _Rayne got to see who her newest opponent was. It was Jiyala the Beautiful. Her one blue eye stood out in the darkness of night. As she stood up, the skulls on here palm frond shawl rattled, even more so as she moved her left arm out in front of her to balance herself since her left leg was gone courtesy of Rayne. Jiyala looked at Rayne smugly.

"What's the matter? Didn't expect to see me again did you?"

Rayne shrugged.

"Not really. Maybe I'm just surprised you're so agile for someone who just lost a leg."

Jiyala looked down towards her cut knee. The blood had dried up and the wound was starting to heal. The recent ingestion of fresh blood had helped with the healing process slightly but Jiyala was going to need more for a complete recovery. She looked up towards Rayne with a snarl.

"Yes, it has been a little difficult to move around but I have managed."

Jiyala then suddenly smiled.

"Just like your new friend was able to run away from us and then lead some of my tribe away from you into the jungle. It's a pity that I had to kill him. He had gone through so much. But, I was in need of his head and blood, so I took it."

Rayne's eyes widened with anger and Jiyala continued.

"You should have seen all the memories and knowledge I got from his brain! He was a bloodthirsty man, but also a tender loving father and husband. His half-breed daughter looked quite delicious… Too bad she isn't old enough for me to take a bite," Jiyala licked her lips, "But you on the other hand…"

Jiyala narrowed her one eyed gaze towards Rayne, both the blue eye and the bloody, gaping eye socket staring a hole into Rayne with evil intent.

"I will be more than happy to kill and devour your head!"

Jiyala charged towards Rayne, making a great stride towards her target despite the fact she was missing a leg. Rayne quickly did a sideways cartwheel to evade the charge. Balancing on her right hand, Jiyala then swung her powerful left arm towards Rayne in anticipation of an attack. To counter the swing, Rayne pierced the limb with Malebranche. Thanks to her dhampir muscles, Rayne was able to keep the impaled limb at bay.

However, Jiyala then turned around and she held out her right hand, the fanged mouth on the palm opening up with trembling lips, and she sent it towards Rayne's face. Upon seeing the ravenous mouth coming towards her head, Rayne reacted quickly and she thrusted her left sword right into the fanged palm. A loud, pained hiss echoed from the mouth and along with a roar from Jiyala and she slid her injured hand off of Malebranche. Holding her hand up in the air as it gurgled and spat out blood, Jiyala soon lost her balance and she toppled backwards. With Jiyala down, Rayne saw her chance and she straddled her opponent and lifted her left arm into the air, retracted Malebranche and she arced her arm so that she could send the blade through Jiyala's open mouth.

Seeing the attack coming, Jiyala bit down on the blade again like last time with full force. Rayne pooled all of her strength into her arm as she tried to force it through the back of Jiyala's skull. However, Jiyala's will to live was just as strong as her enemy's intent to kill her and she retained her vice like grip on the sword. Since Rayne's right blade was still stuck in Jiyala's thick left arm, Jiyala quietly raised her right arm up, the crescent talons poised for action, towards Rayne's head. Rayne was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't even notice Jiyala's talons getting closer and closer.

When the hand opened up, one of the talons brushed through Rayne's hair like a breeze. Alerted to the incoming attack, Rayne kicked the arm away as hard as she could and she grabbed one of the grenades she had strapped to her waist. Removing the pin with her teeth, Rayne then leapt off of Jiyala's torso and she brought over Jiyala's left arm and she shoved the grenade into its mouth. After removing Malebranche, Rayne somersaulted away from a stunned Jiyala and she waited for the bloody explosion. Just as Jiyala was attempting to get up, a loud explosion ripped through her left arm.

Pieces of flesh, teeth and crimson painted bone flew everywhere and a fine cloud of pink mist hung around the charred and bloody stump that remained of Jiyala's arm. Rayne was so surprised at what she had done. It had all happened so quickly and at the same time she didn't know how she came up with using the grenade to blow off Jiyala's arm. Maybe some distant inspiration from the time she blew up a stick of dynamite in the grinning mouth of Luna Guerra, a werewolf from Rayne's journey to Spain over a year ago? Jiyala's wretched howls of pain began to echo through Rayne's shock. Shaking her head, Rayne regained her senses and looked upon the mess she had made.

Poor Jiyala's left side hadn't had much luck this night. The great mistress of Hedrox the Infinite was sans her left eye, leg and now her arm. Even most of her frond and skull poncho had been blown away and her mostly bare body was now carpeted in her own blood and burn wounds. A sinister smile crept upon Rayne's lips. The sight of Jiyala's maiming was stirring her bloodlust.

_Blood Rage_ desired activation…

With eyes glowing red, Rayne marched towards Jiyala. As the "Queen of the Feral Vampires" attempted to stand up, she let out a roar filled with the purest hatred and rage since it was all she could do now. Her death was upon her. Time slowed down around Rayne as she proceeded to rapidly cut up Jiyala into more mangled, indiscernible pieces. After chopping off Jiyala's right arm, Rayne's Blood Rage ended when she cut once proud creature in vertically in half. Blood was everywhere; it could be smelled, it could touched and even tasted upon Rayne's tongue. Licking her lips with satisfaction, Rayne looked down upon her fallen enemy.

"Queen of the Vampires… humph… Serves you right you bitch. Took a good man away from his family. Now, I will destroy YOUR man…"

Turning towards Hedrox's Mountain, Rayne turned on her Aura Sense. Her next target was somewhere deep within the mount. However, after tonight's interesting events, Rayne was ready for anything. Steeling herself for what was to come, Rayne proceeded to run towards the mine.

…

Excited chattering echoed throughout the chambers and shafts of the mountain. The Feral Vampires had just lost their queen and countless members of their kin. Now they feared that their doom was imminent. A voice then shook the great stonewalls, silencing them .

"Hush now brothers and sisters of Hedrox… Hedrox will deal with this problem… Yes, Hedrox will avenge us all… Hedrox will kill the red haired demon and we will bathe in her blood tonight…!"

Upon hearing those words, the Feral Vampires quieted down and they retreated into the deepest darkness of their home. They wished upon their hearts that the next thing they would hear would be Rayne's own petrified screams as she was being ripped apart.

* * *

**_Yes... the next chapter will be the fight against the infamous Hedrox the Infinite! This chapter will show how Rayne met Hedrox, since it was never elaborated in the original game itself. This will also conclude the Papua New Guinea arc and the next missions (1935, 1936, 1937 and 1939) will be my own original plots. Thank you for being patient.  
_**

**_Also, thank you for reading and please review! :) _**

***= Australian term for policeman **

****= These were real laws created by the Australian government to "curb" the "savagery" of the Aboriginal people of the country. This led to Aborginal children being forcibly removed from their homes so that they could be placed into institutions or foster homes were they would be taught how to function in white Australian society and to "tame" them of their heritage. These actions led to the creation of the "Lost Generation," and the children that were taken suffered from mental, physical and even sexual abuse by the people that were supposed to be "helping" them. This is similar to the Carlilse Indian School in my home state of Pennsylvania. Native American children were taken from their families in the Midwest and sent to the school to "kill the Indian and save the man." It was very tragic...**


	18. Chapter 17: Hedrox the Infinite

**_Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I have been pretty busy lately. Anyway, here is the battle against the infamous Hedrox the Infinite. Enjoy!_**

**Author's Note: Blood and gore ahead. Also some profanity.**

***= Vindictus OST - Crescent Fangs**

* * *

**_Ruby Mine Tunnels_**

The mine tunnel was long and winding. Rayne had to use her Aura Sense to see in the pitch-black nothingness and to make sure she wouldn't trip over anything or anyone. Her aura vision revealed pickaxes, lanterns and baskets scattered all over the mine floor along with a few bodies belonging to the converted indigenous miners. The most striking thing however was that the deeper Rayne went, the more rubies she saw jutting out of the rock. Even though her Aura vision had darkened their color tremendously, Rayne could tell that they were stones of truly outstanding beauty.

After what felt like an eternity, Rayne soon came upon a dead end. The wall that blocked her path was covered in a strange and macabre mural. Painted in what appeared to be red ocher and white paint were countless outlines of skulls staring back at Rayne and standing tall in the middle of the grotesque collection was most likely Hedrox. Blood dripped from his massive clawed hand and his body was painted black and white and two deep scarlet circles on his face represented his eyes. Two figures were painted above Hedrox over each of his shoulders.

On his right was what appeared to be a warrior, discernible by his feathered headdress, a spear in his right hand and a severed head he held in his left. On Hedrox's left was somebody Rayne assumed to be a priest by the way he held his hands up in the air, like he was extolling his people's god. Beyond the creepy artwork, Rayne could see a baseball sized blue light pulsing in the distance. The tunnel was a dead end but on a hunch, Rayne looked up and she saw a large hole in the cave ceiling. Taking a chance, she jumped up through the hole and landed on solid ground.

She continued down the path, using Aura Sense to light up the way. The pathway was a long one but Rayne pressed onwards. The light grew larger and larger until Rayne decided to turn off her Aura Sense. Moonlight illuminated the cavern faintly but it light enough for her to see without Aura Sense and Rayne quickened her pace towards the end of the tunnel. She soon reached the edge and she came across a strange yet eerily beautiful sight.

It was a massive open air chamber. Moonlight wafted through from a large opening far above on the cavern wall and it revealed the more macabre details of the place. The edge of the tunnel abruptly ended at a twenty-foot drop down towards a floor made entirely of human skulls. They were all organized haphazardly all over the area; sun bleached skulls with gaping eye sockets and permanent grins as they laid amongst each other. Some of the bones were stained with either fresh or dried blood on them, remnants of the fact that these skulls once belonged to living, breathing human beings that were offered up as sacrifices to their god Hedrox. Piled up against the back wall was a heap of skulls that crudely resembled a throne.

A clothed, prostrate body was lying close to the "throne." Curious, Rayne jumped down onto the "skull bed" below. Craniums were broken and shards of bone and teeth flew up from the impact of her landing. Aura Sense showed that the still figure was not alive but Rayne proceeded towards it anyway, walking a little unsteadily due to the uneven terrain. Upon reaching the corpse she looked it over.

The body was male, wearing a white and blue plaid shirt with beige colored pants, a black belt, handmade reed sandals and a leather strap wristwatch on his left wrist. Turning over the corpse, Rayne discovered that the man didn't have a head and dried blood caked the rim of the severed neck and trails of coagulated blood decorated the corpse's throat and shirt collar.

"Is this the preacher? Norman Jessop?"

Rayne remembered that the converted Kikunowa had told her that Hedrox had kidnapped Norman during a raid on the Village of the Reborn. It looked like Hedrox got his revenge on the man that was desecrating his home and stealing the crystalized blood of his sacrifices. Something was thrown towards Rayne's right side. Rolling onto its mandible, the pearly white grin of a blood drenched skull (Norman's) revealed itself to Rayne. Eyes widening with alarm, Rayne swiftly turned around with Malebranche flexed out looking around for the skull pitcher.

The sound of pebbles and earth falling down caught Rayne's attention to the back wall and she quickly turned around. With her heightened senses, she saw evanescent dust and small pieces of pebbles from the rock falling down onto the skulls. The same thing occurred with the back wall and Rayne turned around quickly again only to be met with an eerie silence.

"She is quick…"

A resonate voice echoed across the chamber, rumbling up the stone walls and empty air like the voices of a choir.

"Come out now and I will show you just how quick I am! Especially when I am killing you." Rayne muttered under her breath.

Something dripped onto her left shoulder. Touching it, Rayne discovered to her disgust that the warm, thick and foul smelling liquid was saliva. Looking up immediately, Rayne saw the mouth where the drool had come from.

"Holy fuck!" Rayne shouted and she retracted Malebranche and she brought out the submachine-gun and began firing at the creature. The creature was faster and it leapt from the rock wall and it landed a few feet behind Rayne. She fired a wave of bullets towards the creature but it blocked them with its huge black arm. Seeing the futility of her assault, Rayne ceased fire to save ammunition. Lowering its left arm, Rayne finally got a good look at her opponent.

It was Hedrox the Infinite, god of the headhunters. Just like his cave mural, he was much bigger, had black skin and fur with white markings (a color inversion to the rest of his race), gigantic claws and dark red eyes. Bone needle and wild boar tusk ring piercings decorated his throat, biceps, forehead and two long ones poked out of his nostrils like cat whiskers. His feet which looked like a mix between bird and lizard feet, were firmly rooted into the skulls with his black talons. Hedrox smiled at Rayne with a big toothy grin.

"Hello Rayne. Hedrox welcomes you to his mountain."

He then bowed his head respectively. His ears twitched when he saw Rayne preparing to speak.

"So you are the god of the headhunters. Heard a lot about you tonight."

"All good Hedrox hopes!" Hedrox said with an echoing chortle.

Rayne shrugged.

"Meh, not really. It was mostly about you being a bloodsucking bastard who loves to rip peoples heads off. Your mistress certainly had a lot of nice things to say about you though." Rayne said.

Hedrox snorted contemptuously to that last remark.

"Pffft, Jiyala… She was becoming a bit of a nuisance to Hedrox. She was getting overbearing, clingy and arrogant, especially since it is getting close to time for Hedrox to pick a new concubine. Hedrox does it once every one hundred years. Jiyala did give Hedrox three sons so she wasn't too terrible…"

Rayne felt a pang of pity for the recently deceased Jiyala. But since she was a monster, both literally and figuratively, the pitying feeling was brief.

"Look pal," she said suddenly, cutting off Hedrox's tangent, she was getting sick of him speaking in third person, "I don't give a damn that you pick a new life partner to spend one hundred years with. I especially don't give a damn that you are a god. What I do care about is that you are murdering people left and right and bringing attention to the existence of vampires. I am here to stop you and if you won't submit…"

Rayne retracted Malebranche.

"Then I will destroy you without mercy."

Hedrox let out a hearty, rippling laugh that filled the entire chamber, his teeth bared and his lips moving up and down like a piston. When he was done, Hedrox gave Rayne a look that denoted that his laid back manner had just been swept under the rug and that he was now in a serious mood.

"Just remember girl… When you die, there is no way you can make up for regrets. You shall die here regretting what you had just said to Hedrox now."

Rayne simply smirked at his remark.

"Good, at least I will die knowing that I got under a god's skin."

*****Hedrox let out a loud hiss before suddenly charging towards Rayne with his powerful arms. Rayne quickly did a side-step cartwheel and she managed to avoid the devastating charge. As bone shards flew into the air, Rayne got out the submachine-gun again and she fired it at Hedrox. Strands of blood flew out of the burning bullet wounds and they fell onto the skulls beneath their god's feet. Rayne pulled back on the trigger of her machine-gun but the only thing that came out of the barrel was smoke.

"Shit…" Rayne mumbled.

Hedrox immediately turned around and he let out an annoyed growl. Digging his massive clawed right hand into the skull floor, Hedrox then suddenly swung his arm up. A wave of skulls came flying towards Rayne but she was able to dodge them at the last second, the smooth, cracked cranium of one missing her nose by a half-inch as it flew in the air. A large black form appeared at the corner of Rayne's left eye but before she could react, Hedrox slammed right into her, causing her to fly backwards. Landing on a bed of skulls, Rayne could feel sharp bone shards poking her skin as she tried to get up.

Hedrox's shadow suddenly enveloped her supine form and Rayne looked up to see that he had leapt in midair and was coming down for a landing on top of her. Acting quickly, Rayne rolled to her right to avoid the attack of Hedrox's landing. She got up just as the vampire-god slammed into the ground, causing bone shards to fly up into the air like lava from an erupting volcano. Seeing that his target had evaded him, Hedrox resumed his attack with a loud, bloodcurdling hiss, his teeth bared. As she made her evasive maneuver, Rayne's foot nudged the butt end of the submachine-gun that she had dropped.

Grabbing it at the last second, Rayne avoided a powerful clawed, bear hug that Hedrox wanted to "give" her. Sensing his target behind him, Hedrox swung his club like arm behind him to strike Rayne, only for her to do a 180 leap above him and slam the machinegun's butt onto his forehead. The blow was so powerful that the butt end broke off from the impact. The attack was strong enough to daze Hedrox as well, just a Rayne had intended. As Hedrox grabbed his head in agony, Rayne went to work.

Tossing the now useless gun away, Rayne sliced off Hedrox's right leg at the knee. When he fell, she quickly crossed her blades and swung them outward, cutting through his cheeks and spine. As the blood began to pour from the wound like a waterfall, Rayne used the tip of Malebranche to push the top of Hedrox's head off so that it could join the skulls below. After the top of his head was pushed off, Hedrox's body then fell as well. The God of the Headhunters was dead.

***/**"Heh… So much for being a god or "infinite." Rayne said with a sneer.

Feeling triumphant, she turned to leave.

"Gurkh…! guRkH…! GURkh...!"

The grotesque sound caught Rayne's attention and she turned around. The sound continued, it started off in discordant spurts but soon they increased rapidly in quick succession. As soon as they increased, Hedrox's body began to twitch like the severed head of a snake. His amputated leg began to spasm and Rayne saw the same thing happening with Hedrox's severed cranium as well. A dark, red mass began to "bubble" from the cut off ends of the legs and head, and then it "spread out" like spilled water inside a glass vessel.

From the severed leg, the mass began to form a well-muscled thigh and then a waist, then the waist branched out into another leg and the waist elongated into an abdomen. A jawbone formed underneath Hedrox's head and soon a neck followed, and then shoulders and then two buds that blossomed into powerful arms that the head used to pick it's still growing body up. From the where his knee had been cut through, a leg began to "cascade" down and form a foot and four sharp clawed toes. The grotesque sound meanwhile began to grow into a disturbing, sinister laugh that originated from the Hedrox that formed from the severed head, and then joined by the original Hedrox as he stood up on his new leg, laughing with his new head. The Hedrox that was formed from the leg soon joined the eerie chorus.

As this all happened, Rayne stood there with a gaping, shocked expression. She had never seen anything like this before and it terrified her.

"What's the matter Rayne? Scared?" The three Hedrox's spoke at different intervals, each head telepathically being able to continue or finish a sentence said by the other.

"No." Rayne responded.

Hedrox laughed at her.

"Don't lie to Hedrox. We know you are scared…" His smile then became a rictus grin, baring his stained fangs. "Rayne is scared like a little girl…" He teased menacingly.

"Shut the hell up you fucking freak of nature!" Rayne hissed back at him. "You're only tough now because you just... added two more versions of yourself to the mix. Let's see how tough you when I mince you up into bite sized little pieces…"

Hedrox let out a full laugh in response to that remark.

"Ha! Hedrox likes that! We like it a lot! Lets see if you can live up to your threats!"

*****Opening their mouths wide, the Hedrox trio let out a massive roar before charging after Rayne simultaneously. Unsure of what to do against the three vampires, Rayne simply jumped over them to avoid them. However, the monsters were now quick to react to her evasions. Two of the Hedroxes immediately turned around and resumed going after Rayne. The one that had been to the original Hedrox's right, the middle one, jumped onto the cavern wall and began crawling on it like a spider.

The original Hedrox slashed and jabbed with his clawed hand but thanks to Rayne's adrenaline rush, she was able to see the attacks coming and dodged them with relative ease. One of the Hedrox clones, the one that had been formed from the severed head suddenly lunged at Rayne with his clawed left hand, the mouth opening up wide to swallow her head. Rayne immediately sidestepped the Hedrox clone and she instinctively sliced off his left arm. The now one armed Hedrox let out a mocking laugh as Rayne heard a cracking noise from above and she looked up to see the Hedrox clone that had been clinging to the walls had now leapt from his perch. He had his right hand held out to strike Rayne but she got away just in time as his punch created a small cracked, crater of broken skulls.

The original Hedrox suddenly rolled quickly towards Rayne and before she knew it, the warm saliva and foul breath from his mouth was being breathed onto her face. Hedrox quickly grabbed Rayne in a bear hug and began to squeeze as hard as he could. Strugling hard to get free, Rayne managed to remove her left arm from the powerful embrace and she pierced Hedrox's right eye with her fingers until tears of blood began to fall down his cheek. Hissing loudly with surprise, Hedrox let go of his feisty opponent. Just as she was getting feeling back into her right arm, a Hedrox clone appeared suddenly beside her and it grabbed Rayne. With a stance similar to a baseball pitcher, the clone hurled Rayne towards the rock wall.

Rayne hit the wall with enough force to cause a myriad of black, vein like cracks to outline her figure. Dazed and sore, Rayne fell to her knees. Looking up, she saw there were now four of the Hedrox's thanks to the severed left arm and the clone she cut the limb off from had regenerated it. They were now advancing towards Rayne, smug smiles framing their faces and eerie chuckling echoing off from each of them. As Rayne began to get up, she felt a familiar burning sensation tingle on her back.

Feeling her skin with her fingers, a moist, fiery sensation began to envelope her fingertips. Her back was wet. Looking behind her, Rayne saw tiny streams of water pouring out of the cracks caused by her impact, darkening the stone and pouring on top of the skulls like an ablution from Mother Nature herself. With her superior hearing, Rayne thought she heard a dull rumbling coming from behind the wall. Touching a dry spot on the stone wall, Rayne could feel some rushing movement.

There was probably a subterranean river or pool of some sort behind the wall. Rayne looked back towards her advancing targets. She wandered if water could hurt them as badly as it did to her. When the Hedroxes saw Rayne pull out a grenade from her belt, they quickened their pace to an all out run. Just like before, Rayne was able to leap over them and do a 180.

As she righted herself in midair, Rayne threw down two small "presents" for them, a grenade and its clip. The grenade fell in front of the gathered Hedroxes and a moment later, it exploded. Howls of surprise and the sound of crumbling rock began echo throughout the chamber. After the smoke and dust had cleared, Rayne saw the somewhat mangled bodies of the Hedroxes. As the clones regenerated their wounds, new Hedroxes began to "sprout" from their severed body parts.

The rock wall had been weakened and more water began to pour out. When the water touched the toes of the Hedroxes, they let out a collective yelp of surprise and they leapt away from the water. The new clones that were almost completely formed crawled or limped away from the oncoming, "poisonous" torrent. The clones that were still forming or didn't have heads writhed in agony as the water touched them. Steam wafted from their bodies and a sound similar to bacon being fried was heard.

The sizzling sound soon gave way to a full out fiery roar as flames engulfed the unfortunate clones and they disappeared into piles of soaked ash. They were weak to water. Rayne knew what she had to do now. Judging from the strength and frequency of the running water, there was a large source of it behind that rock wall. Due to fluvial erosion from within, the layers of stone were not strong and Rayne guessed that another grenade would do the trick. But this also caused two problems.

First off, Hedrox was crazy but not stupid. He and his clones were probably catching on to Rayne's plan and they were going to do everything in their power to stop her. Since there was now more of him, the difficulty of Rayne's task had increased. Second, the water was as much of a threat to Rayne as it was to Hedrox. She had to be careful not to get caught by a raging cataract when she blew up the rest of the weakened wall.

But Rayne was smarter than she gave herself credit for. Looking at the second grenade in her hand, an idea came into her head. What if she used the grenades to slow down Hedrox and his clones to buy time so she could light the sticks of dynamite? It would create more Hedrox's but it would also help Rayne with her mission. Taking a deep breath, Rayne looked out towards the Hedroxes. One of them turned around and looked back at her and it growled. Rayne crossed her left fingers.

"Lets do this."

Seeing a ledge up on the wall to her right, Rayne took off for it. The Hedroxes roared and they followed her. Pooling enough strength into her legs, Rayne jumped up and was able to reach the ledge. Pulling out the clip, she threw the grenade down below. However the clones went around it and the resulting explosion did not harm Hedrox.

"Shit!" Rayne said to herself.

She leapt to the next ledge on the opposite wall just as a Hedrox jumped up to get her. Taking out her second grenade, Rayne unclipped it and she threw it out onto the other ledge just as a Hedrox was pulling himself up to onto it. The explosion blew off his arms and he plummeted back onto the skull bed and a cacophony of angry hisses and threatening growls echoed from the assembled mob below. Noticing that she was taking out the two sticks of dynamite, the Hedroxes raced over to the wall Rayne was on and they began to climb up on it like geckos. Moving quickly, Rayne brought out a match from the matchbox and she quickly swiped it against the rock wall for friction ignition.

As soon as a soft colored flame appeared on the match, she lit the two sticks. As soon as the fuses began to crackle with sparks, Rayne saw the bloodied claws of a Hedrox latch itself next to her. With both sticks in her hands, Rayne quickly leapt from the ledge and onto another one the other wall. The Hedroxes shouted in frustration and they climbed after her. Taking her chances, Rayne jumped off of the ledge and landed away from the mob.

Taking off towards the smashed wall, Rayne heard the Hedroxes roaring and she knew they were now tailing after her. When she saw that she was within range, Rayne threw the dynamite towards the wall with all her might. She ran towards the left corner of the area and she waited. The Hedroxes surrounded her while two other clones went over to retrieve the dynamite. Rayne could feel their leering gazes and their taunting laughter.

She brought out Malebranche in anticipation. She could feel her skin tingling with anxiety as she waited for the dynamite to do their job before the two clones could take them away. Just the claws of one clone could touch one of the sticks, the spark had burned down the entire fuse. The dual explosions rocked the area and soon another a force shook the chamber. Massive cracks climbed up the wall and soon a powerful roar shook the rocks and skulls as a river of water shot out.

What was left of the two clones were soon swallowed up by the water. Steam rose from the raging surface and even their crematory flames were burning beneath it. Terrified shouts from the clones began echo amongst the Hedroxes as the water began to pool around them. Seeing her chance, Rayne took advantage of the distraction. Using Malebranche, she cut off the leg of one of the clones and she used his fallen body as a platform to jump over his kin and escape. Taking notice of her departure, the Hedroxes went after her, not to kill her, but to join her in escaping their watery death as well.

Rayne leapt onto the ledge that she had thrown a grenade on and she began to jump to and from each of the natural platforms that dotted the walls. She had to move quickly because the Hedroxes were frantically trying to get onto the ledges too or were crawling up the walls. The water was moving rapidly and already there was water in the center of the room and it was getting deeper and deeper. On one wall, a Hedrox was moving up too slowly and the one clone behind him got impatient and he grabbed his ankle and pulled him off the wall. However, Hedrox managed to hang before finally slipping and knocking down the clone that had pulled him and the other one behind him down into the growing lake below.

There were only three Hedroxes now. They followed Rayne like ducklings trailing their mother. The water below was still climbing but thankfully it had slowed down. There was a din of hissing and screaming that seemed to make the whole mountain vibrate and upon hearing it, Hedrox spoke.

"Hush now! Everything is all right. Go to the higher reaches of the mountain kin of Hedrox! Protect Hedrox's children!" His words were effective and the Feral Vampires became quiet as they hurried to perform their tasks.

Moonlight became brighter the higher Rayne went up the cavern and she was soon able to see the roots and vines hanging down from the lip of the opening where lush foliage decorated the stone rim. Upon landing on another ledge, Rayne looked around realized that it was the last ledge but the distance between her and the exit was too far for her jump. Turning around to face the mossy rock wall, Rayne saw a long, slender vine hanging behind her from a tall tree above. She tugged on it and found that it was very strong and sturdy; it could hold her weight. Taking it into her hands, Rayne began to climb up the vine towards the mountain jungle above.

Upon reaching the edge, she hoisted herself up and she backed away from the hole. Panting with exhaustion, she knelt down and she clutched her knees. Rayne sometimes hated her human limitations as much as she did her vampire ones, but now it felt good to feel so winded since she had accomplished something. The sounds of stone being punctured and chipped was heard and Rayne looked up to see the three Hedroxes crawling out of the hole and perching themselves on top of the rock that was above the opening. Just like Rayne, the three looked exhausted too.

They panted and they looked around the jungle for something, probably for the rest of their kind. After they were done looking, the trio settled their gazes on Rayne. A huffing noise emerged from the resonate throat of the middle Hedrox.

"Very clever Rayne… Very, very clever…"

The other clones spoke as well by repeating the words "very" and "clever."

"Shall we forge a truce for the time being…?"

Rayne stood straight up and looked the main Hedrox in the eye.

"Sure, for now. Are you going to stop attacking the Village of the Reborn and its inhabitants?"

"Yes…" the Hedroxes said, a disappointed tone peppered their agreement.

Rayne remembered what the village elder had said about impressing Hedrox with her strength. Her battle with him had more than impressed Hedrox it seemed. And now, just like the elder had also suggested, she was reasoning with the god by opening her mouth and speaking.

"You won't go after Glenn will you? He is the preacher's son."

"No… Hedrox has no use for him, although it would be interesting to see his memories so we can see what his homeland looks like. From his father Hedrox saw vast prairies and fields of strange crops. Giant boars with small horns on their heads***** and a settlement larger than a village with soooo many people…"

Hedrox began to ramble on and on and Rayne began get bored.

"That's great…." Rayne said in a subtly annoyed tone.

"I wander what your memories are like Rayne…" Hedrox finally said and it startled Rayne from her boredom.

"Hey now! Remember that we have a truce now. It will end when I leave your territory. Do you agree with that?"

"Yes… we do." Hedrox said.

"Good." Rayne said and as she turned to leave, a random question appeared into her mind.

"Hey… Back in the Village of the Reborn, I noticed that your vampires did not go after children or their mothers. Do you have a soft spot for kids?"

"No… Hedrox does not take the heads of children because they are too young and thus do not have any valuable knowledge for us. They need their mothers to nurture them before they become old enough for Hedrox's fangs…"

The Hedroxes licked their lips with a dark purple tongue.

"Huh, well that's too bad. I guess I was hoping you had some good qualities but I guess not. Then again it might count but I won't think about it further."

Rayne turned to leave.

"We hope to see you again Rayne…" the Hedroxes said. The words "see you" and "again" echoed ominously beneath the jungle canopy. Rayne looked over her shoulder at them.

"For your sake, I hope we don't."

After that, Rayne went down the mountain. Using Aura Sense, she traversed down through the mountain jungle. She wasn't entirely sure but Rayne believed that she still had plenty of darkness left to collect the male and female bodies from the ruby mine entrance and the Kikunowa Village for Brimstone scientists to study. She also had to tell the tribe and Glenn that the nightmare was over too. Speaking of Glenn, Rayne thought of bringing him with her to the ferry boat to take him back to Port Moresby so he could be treated for his injuries and trauma.

Then she thought of the foul ferry captain and Chet and she smirked about them staying put in the boat as she raced through the jungle to complete her many tasks before dawn came.

* * *

**Well the Papua New Guinea mission is over. The next three missions will be of my own original design and the very next one will take place in Southern California and then Macao. Stay tuned!**

***= Buffalo**

**Thank you for reading and **_**please review! :)**_


	19. Chapter 18: Mystery on the West Coast

**Here is the first chapter of a truly original mission (the Papua New Guinea one was hinted towards in the game) with OCs of my own design. Please enjoy!  
**

**Author's Note:** **Lewd and profane language ahead. Drug use will also be seen. **

* * *

**_San Laura, California_**

**_1935_**

Looking out the window of her room on the train, Rayne saw the light of dusk fade into a fiery orange outline along the ridges of the mountains of southern California. The dark blue sky was also giving way to the blackness of night and Rayne could see that stars were starting to appear like fireflies. She could see the faint black and gray forms of the rapidly passing dry scrubland, its cacti and hardy flora standing stalwart as the coolness of the desert night came. This area had remained mostly untouched since the day the first settlers arrived with their Conestoga wagons from the East, bringing with them their hopes and dreams of easy riches gleaned from the Gold Rush of 1849. But the city Rayne was going to was not founded by gold seeking prospectors.

The beginning of San Laura's history dated back to 1786, when Spanish missionaries founded the San Laura mission with hopes of converting the natives there to Roman Catholicism. The Spaniards also built a small village for their converts so that they could live there and work on small plots of farmland to tend to crops like corn, pumpkins and beans, raise livestock or fish from the beautiful coastline nearby. The children of these converts were taught at the mission's school and occasionally, the priests would allow the natives to perform their traditional dances and festivities. After the Gold Rush of 1849, prospectors who were dissatisfied with their decreasing or disappointing yields came down to the mission in hopes of finding gold flakes in the nearby river, the Rio Pequeno. No gold was found and the prospectors turned in their pick axes and sifting pans and took up cattle ranching and fishing instead.

Later on in 1896, a wealthy banker from Chicago was visiting his sister when he saw the beauty of the coastal town and an idea came into his mind. Thanks to the economic growth that occurred after the end of the Civil War, Americans were getting wealthier and wealthier and they could spend big money to visit a beach like the one San Laura no matter where they lived in the vast country. Conspiring with the city mayor and a friend of his that was a lawyer for a railroad company, the banker helped turn the sleepy seaside town/former mission into a tourist locale. Despite his best efforts, San Laura did not become a tourist hotspot like Los Angeles or Coney Island in New York State. However, it did become very popular with Californian citizens both wealthy and average, Southwestern millionaires (oilmen and big time cattle ranchers), Hollywood actors and actresses who came to San Laura to rest from their big releases or flops or to have affairs, and newlyweds starting their honeymoons.

Rayne learned all of this from a travel brochure she found from the Salt Lake City train station that her first train from New York had stopped at. She was headed to San Laura for a mission assigned to her from the Brimstone Society. Supposedly, sightings of a mysterious creature that was described to be a sea serpent had been spotted off the coast of the city. Brimstone wanted Rayne to investigate these sightings. She was incredulous at first.

"Excuse me, but where do sea serpents live in?" she remembered angrily asking Specter Lord.

"The ocean." Specter Lord had said nonchalantly.

"And what is the ocean made out of?" Rayne said as she was getting to the point of her argument. Specter Lord sighed.

"Water."

"Exactly! I burn if so much as a splash touches my skin. Why the hell are you giving me a mission to go hunt a goddamned sea monster?! Don't you have mermen to do this instead?"

"We do have two in our ranks," Specter Lord said, "But they are both busy. One is on a mission in the Mediterranean and the other is on vacation with his family in the Galapagos Islands."

The look on Rayne's face even caused the usually stoic Specter Lord to let out a small chuckle of amusement.

"When we first heard of this creature, Dark Man and I thought it may have been the creation of an alcohol clouded mind. The first sighting after all was reported by two hotel busboys that had been drinking heavily after their shift had ended that night."

"So why do you want to me look into this?" Rayne asked.

"Because the sightings of the sea monster have grown more frequent and people have been reported missing."

Rayne raised an eyebrow as Specter Lord brought out a manila envelope. Opening it, he procured several newspaper clippings describing the disappearances of sailors.

"An agent of ours, who is also on vacation in San Laura, sent us these clippings. He believes that there is a connection with the sea serpent and the missing men. He had analyzed the dates of when the sailors were last seen and when the creature was sighted. The dates matched with several of the nights when the men were reported missing and it all started last year at this time too."

Rayne watched as the waning sunlight faded into the darkness of night. Specter Lord's orders began to echo in her head.

"You will be going to San Laura, California. You will meet up with the agent I just spoke of. His name is Agent Blue Fang. You can guess by his name what his favorite color is. He said he would be wearing a dark blue suit with a fedora that has a songbird feather decorating it. He will give you a tip on how to start your mission…"

Rayne sighed, remembering how she grudgingly accepted it. She had nothing better to do and if she didn't do it then somebody else would be roped into doing the mission. Looking at her watch, Rayne saw that it was almost eight-thirty at night. Deciding that she was going to need a nightcap to conquer the chill of the desert night, Rayne left her cabin wearing a trench coat and hat to hide her outfit and went to the train lounge car for a drink. It was a warm and cozy atmosphere inside the car.

Several multi-colored recliners with covers and lace doilies on the armrests and backs lined the hall. Small single leg tables holding the passengers' drinks or ashtrays were scattered about the car and there was a mahogany and marble bar with a light up display shelves showing all of the liquor and wine that was available. A black bartender wearing a white and black suit was mixing drinks for his customers. After he finished the drink, the bartender sent a waiter out to deliver the martinis to a loud Texan man who was gushing over his petite and exceedingly beautiful wife. She looked like she was embarrassed by his affections and she had a bashful smile on her face.

As her husband praised her, he peppered his affections with loud descriptions of her opera-singing career in Italy and how he was going to give her a life that even the royal family of Britain would envy. It was obvious that the man was trying to show off that he was wealthy and that his trophy wife was an Italian opera singer who could've also been a part-time fashion model for Coco Chanel. After ordering a Bloody Mary from the bar, Rayne sat down and she took out the newspaper clips that Specter Lord had given her from her coat pocket.

"_Seaman Edward J. Gustafson, age 24, was reported missing by his commanding officer from the patrol vessel, the USS Seahorse. He was last seen walking down Mission Boulevard by his fellow sailors the night of July 8__th__. He is a six feet tall and has blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white and blue sailor's uniform. If anyone sees him or has any information about Edward's disappearance, please contact the San Laura police or the US Naval base in San Diego."_

Rayne looked over the other disappearance reports. The sailors were all strapping young men who were last seen walking down several different streets in the city. Rayne thought that it was strange that somebody could just vanish from a street without anyone seeing something strange. Unless, the newspaper wanted to keep a certain aspect of the missing sailors' destinations out of the public eye that is. As Rayne continued to read another missing persons report on a seaman recruit named Howard McPherson, she began to wander when Brimstone would live up to their end of the bargain.

She wandered when they would find her father so she could stick her blades into his heart.

"_She will come to me some day. It takes awhile for dhampirs to accept their fathers, but their eternal lifespan gives them plenty of time to think it over…"_

Those were the words Kagan had said the night of her family's murder as she cowered before a church door, her father, his mistress Ophelia and their minions all glowering at her with evil intent. The memory of him and his cruelty caused her to crush the newspaper clippings in her hand, causing her sharp black fingernail to go through, cutting her middle finger.

"Ow, dammit!" she hissed out loud.

She heard ice rattling in liquid and Rayne looked up to see the black waiter with her drink. He was wide eyed from being startled by her outburst. She took her drink after apologizing. The train continued for another half hour until it finally reached the San Laura train station. Upon exiting the train, Rayne, with Malebranche now firmly attached to her arms and hidden under her trench coat sleeves, activated her Aura Sense and amongst the small crowds of honeymooners and vacationing families, she found her informant.

He was sitting on a bench between two still steel pillars, reading a Life magazine. Walking up to him, Rayne cleared her throat and she introduced herself to him.

"Ahem, Agent Blue Fang I presume?"

The man looked up from his magazine. He had green eyes and he closed the _Life _magazine he was reading over his thumb, which served a bookmark.

"And you must be Rayne. Pleasure to meet you Miss."

Blue Fang spoke with a British accent. He got up and he outstretched his hand to shake hers.

"The way you found me reminds of how Jeanne d'Arc found the Dauphin of France in a crowd of his courtiers when he dressed himself up as one of them and had an imposter sit on the throne to throw her off. "

Blue Fang was quite the charmer.

"It wasn't too hard." Rayne said, "You told Specter Lord what outfit you were going to wear, plus I have my Aura Vision."

"Well that's disappointing," Blue Fang said in a fake sad tone, "I was hoping you were being guided by divine intervention."

Even though he was pleasant, Rayne wanted to get down to business.

"So about my mission, I was told you had some information for me."

Agent Blue Fang put his arm around Rayne's shoulders and he took her outside of the station so that the disembarking passengers couldn't hear what they were going to say. The hacienda style station steps led down to a lovely fountain plaza and surrounding it was a square frame of stairs and red tiled adobe colonnades. Agent Blue Fang and Blood Rayne passed by the fountain, its leisurely hydromechanics giving the place an atmosphere of tranquility.

"Before you say anything, can you please take your arm off my shoulders?"

"Oh yes, I'm sorry."

Agent Blue Fang took his arm off of Rayne and he began to speak. They were leaving the station square as they continued their discussion. Cars passed by, lighting up the roads along with the lights of the buildings.

"Now I have been vacationing here for a week with my wife so I wasn't able to stay out in the field too much. What I have been able to glean was that the sailors that have gone missing were last seen at a bar called "The Tipsy Damsel." It is a seedy little dive located on Peach Street. There is a bordello across from the bar called "Sweet Temptations" and prostitutes are often found at the Damsel picking up drunken clients and taking them back to Temptations to ply their trade. The eastern part of town is not known for having a good reputation and those two establishments are the source of it."

"I can understand that." Rayne said. "Is there any information you can tell me about the sea serpent that is rumored to be swimming around here?"

"Ah yes, the sea serpent. According to the sightings, the creature supposedly favors the waters around Perry's Island."

Agent Blue Fang pointed towards the horizon, past some buildings and Rayne looked and in the far off distance, she saw a great light swiveling over the Pacific Ocean.

"A lighthouse?" Rayne said, "Does the keeper say anything about the creature or is he too scared to leave the island?"

Agent Blue Fang shook his head.

"I am not sure. I did ask around and the people told me that the lighthouse keeper is a widower named Earnest Callahan. However, he is not very well liked. He has a reputation for being a perpetual grump and for being verbally abusive to anyone he talks to. I don't think anyone would feel sorry if the sea creature were to eat him. "

"Sounds like a pleasant man." Rayne said, "Is there anything else I should know? Did you ask the bartender who were the prostitutes that the sailors had left with?" Rayne asked.

"No, like I said I wasn't able to due to my wife. I didn't want to leave our marital bed empty for too long…" a devilish little smile crept on Blue Fang's lips and Rayne felt embarrassed for him. He looked at his wristwatch.

"Speaking of the wife, I have to get back to my hotel soon. She and I are going to the theatre to see _Macbeth_ and she is going to meet me in our hotel's lobby. Here, let me give you this map…"

Pulling out a folded square piece of paper, the agent unfolded it. It was a map of the city and Blue Fang took out a pen and drew an X in blue ink in the area that said Main Street. A trail of blue rectangles was drawn from the X through a few streets towards Peach Street.

"Just follow these directions and you shall soon reach the bar and bordello. Ask the bartender about whom the sailors were seeing before they left. Ta-ta for now!" Agent Blue Fang said as he departed and waved to Rayne.

Blue Fang was certainly a talker but he did provide very a valuable groundwork for Rayne to use to begin her mission. Despite it being nine in the evening, the streets of San Laura were thronged with people, mostly tourists. The tallest buildings in the city were hotels and they were lit up like lanterns as their guests enacted their nighttime schedules. Rayne walked unassumingly, her bladed stilettos not catching anyone's attention due to them being focused on the ocean scented night air and the stars above. Even Rayne felt a little transfixed on the lovely evening weather.

It reminded her of the nights her family would spend the night at her great-grandparents cottage, when the breeze would sometimes carry in the scent of the Atlantic into their bedroom windows and during the Fourth July fireworks display at Long Island, when her family would watch the beautiful kaleidoscopic explosions as they decorated the night sky in red, white and blue. It was a pleasant thought but Rayne quickly buried them in order focus on the task at hand. Taking out the map, Rayne looked at the street signs to see where she was and then looked back at the map for clarification. She still had a few blocks to go on Main Street before she took a left at a traffic light and head up to Mission Boulevard. After eight blocks, Rayne would have to take a right down Orchard Street and take another left at the intersection and she would be in Peach Street.

After memorizing the map, Rayne continued on her way. Main Street was crowded with tourists. Most of them were young couples going to cabarets, the theatre or beach for an evening stroll. Despite the Great Depression, people were somehow finding the finances to travel and these trips became very special because of that. Making her way down the streets, Rayne could hear laughter and excited chatter coming from the din of the crowds.

The topics of the conversations that were overheard varied from talking about the weather that afternoon, what to do the next day, chatting about what had been experienced so far during vacation and the like. Seeing a traffic light overhead turn red, Rayne stopped at the crosswalk and waited for the line of cars to pass. A rickety old pick-up truck that looked to be over twenty-years old and was covered in rust grumbled up through the road, spewing forth foul clouds of exhaust. The trunk was overflowing with what appeared old household furniture; a bed that acted as a table to hold an upside down beaten and scratched table, dresser, a long skinny lamp and chairs with worn cushions. The whole assortment was being held down by three flimsy and frayed ropes and as the truck crawled out, the rattling of pots and pans could be heard. Rayne saw the driver and passengers of the ancient vehicle.

There were three people inside, four including a small German shepherd puppy that was being held by a dark eyed girl with blond hair styled in a bob-cut. The adults appeared to be weary and haggard while the girl and puppy looked all over the city in shock. They were obviously not from the city and their clothes and truck were testimony to that.

"Damn Okies…" a woman hissed behind Rayne. She turned to face the woman, who was dressed in a lovely black clothes with a sable colored hat decorated with a fake ostrich feather.

"A what?" Rayne asked. The old woman began to explain.

"You must not be from around here then. Okies are these down on their luck farmers from Oklahoma. Most of the people in that state farm for a living and the Dust Bowl has pretty much destroyed their livelihoods. They all now flocking here to California looking for work." The woman said with a sneer.

"What's wrong with them getting jobs here?" Rayne asked.

"What's wrong with it you ask? They track in dust and dirt, are mostly illiterate and can barely write and they are taking jobs that belong to more qualified native Californians. They are like locusts and I wish they would be forced back to Oklahoma where they can try and fix the problem they have there rather than burden us with their misfortune."

Rayne gave the woman contemptuous look.

"I really doubt the Dust Bowl is anything they can fix on their own ma'am. And I must be quite frank with you, but I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"What?! Why I never-"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I have an allergy towards stuck-up bitches like you."

As the woman's jaw dropped, the light changed and Rayne made her way down the street. After passing through Mission Boulevard, Rayne took a right and continued on her way. As she progressed through the drawn route, Rayne noticed how some of the buildings became a little more rundown. Eventually, she came to Peach Street and she saw an entirely different crowd of people. Made up of mostly men, some of them sailors, they thronged the sidewalks either careening in pairs in a drunken stupor, or were being led back to the Sweet Temptations bordello on the arms of a curvaceous woman.

Loud voices filled the air like smoke; mostly catcalls, drunken singing and arguments being waged between men and women along with the sounds of uproarious laughter. Rayne saw the Tipsy Damsel's sign, its was name printed in large dark red block letters and the painting of a jovial woman with curly hair and blushed cheeks. She was frolicking on a stool holding a champagne glass that was spilling the eponymous drink and a dark colored glass bottle in her upraised hands. An atmosphere like this would have turned away most decent people, but Rayne wasn't bothered at all in the least. With her hands in her pockets, Rayne walked down towards the crowd.

A trio of men in an alleyway were starting their joints of reefer from the lighter of a slender prostitute, who was dwarfed by some of the men, when they saw Rayne. Expelling smoke, they whistled and catcalled her and Rayne nonchalantly gave them the middle finger as she passed, silencing them. This action also caused the prostitute to put her hand up to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Some of the other crowd members stared at Rayne as she entered the dive, not understanding why a decently dressed woman like her was even visiting the Tipsy Damsel in the first place. Upon stepping into the dimly dive, Rayne's nostrils were hit with an onslaught of scents that were all astringent.

Cigarette smoke fogged up the joint with both its sharp scent and grey clouds, the alcoholic tang of cheap beer and whiskey mixed with the foul breaths of the bar patrons and Rayne was sure she could smell rotten teeth as well and it tested her powerful gag reflex. Amidst the odors, Rayne also caught whiffs of the floral and chemical fragrance of perfume. Women wearing thick lipstick, blush and eyeliner peppered the dive crowd wearing V-neck outfits and their hair under cloche hats or done up in some fancy way to attract men to them for "business." Some patrons were playing pool, chatting at the bar or tables or were leaving with their girlfriends or boyfriends of the night as music poured out of a worn gramophone in the upper right corner of the bar. Rayne then locked on to the bartender.

He was an old man with silver hair wearing all white like a butcher. He was cleaning a beer mug and laughing at some lewd joke that a sailor had just cracked.

"Hey baby doll, aren't you lookin fine tonight!"

Rayne swiveled her head to her left to see a sailor with brown eyes and dark hair looking right at her with a lecherous gaze. His auburn haired and freckled cohort sniggered as he stared at Rayne too.

"Why don't you come over here and give us men some company, whadya say sweet thing?" the dark haired man continued.

Rayne fixed them an ugly look.

"Not a chance in hell…"

Leaving the men to make childish faces at her behind her back, Rayne went up to the bar. The bartender and his jokester pal stopped what they were doing to gawk at Rayne. She was quite lovely, but the attention she was receiving annoyed her to no end.

"What can I get for ya sweetheart?" the bartender asked.

"Not in the mood for a drink. Already had one tonight. I need to ask you some questions-"

The bartender raised his hands up.

"Sorry, if you won't do business with me, you have no place here."

Sighing, Rayne acquiesced into to ordering a beverage.

"Fine, I'll have a cosmopolitan."

"A what?" the old man asked.

"It's a drink…" Rayne said in an annoyed tone.

"Well its no drink I have ever heard of sweetheart so I don't have the ingredients for it. How about a gin and tonic instead?"

"That will be fine thanks."

As the bartender began to prepare her beverage, Rayne felt a hand softly place itself just above her left knee and then slide down to her waist. With lightening fast reflexes, Rayne raised her left hand up into a fist and sent it crashing down onto the groin of the groping sailor.

"Ugh!" the man cried out sharply as he then cupped his now aching manhood. Some of the patrons looked to see what was going on as Rayne grabbed the man's chin roughly with her fingers and she forced his face up so he could look her right in the eye.

"Serves you right for that, now get lost."

She let go of the sailor's chin and the man unsteadily removed himself from the barstool as the patrons laughed at him, humiliating him further. The sound of something being placed on the thick wooden counter caused Rayne to turn around to see her just made gin and tonic, complete with a bright wedge of lime. Rayne took a small sip of it as the bar tender began to speak.

"Quite the attitude you got there missy. Where did Maude find you or how did you find her?" the bartender asked.

"Who the hell is that?" Rayne asked as she made a face. The bar tender had put too much tonic water in her drink and it was extremely fizzy.

"Maude's the owner of Sweet Temptations, that rundown whorehouse that's just across from us. She runs it while her idiot Mexican boyfriend, Felipe, acts as a bouncer. Now what questions did you want to ask me darlin?"

After listening to him speak, Rayne pulled out the newspaper clippings of the missing sailors and she laid them down on the counter. As the bartender looked over them, Rayne spoke.

"From what I have heard, these men were last seen here before they disappeared. Do you by chance recall any of them?"

After scrutinizing the newspapers, Rayne noticed that the bartender was starting to sweat a little. He took Rayne's drink and he quaffed it down all in one go, surprising her. After he finished he gestured her to come closer with his finger and Rayne leaned in.

"Look Miss, I don't know who the hell you are, but let me tell you something. Your investigation into this matter will land you into some pretty hot trouble, I'll tell you that."

"Hot trouble? How? I can handle myself just fine thank you."

"Well that's the thing, I think this situation may actually be a bit beyond you if you know what I mean."

Rayne gave him an angry look.

"Why because I am a woman? Let me show you something…"

Rayne suddenly grabbed the man's left wrist and she squeezed it as hard as she could. The bartender let out a yelp of pain that went unheard amongst a din of raucous laughter. He could feel his circulation getting cut off from the grip and that his humorous and radius were getting bent. When he looked at his mysterious customer with a pleading look, he saw her emerald green eyes turn a vibrant red and a cold sweat broke out all over his wrinkled and hairy skin.

"Okay! Okay! Let me go!" he whimpered with fear and pain.

Satisfied with her intimidation tactic, Rayne released the man's wrist and he backed up against the liquor display case, rattling the bottles. Gripping and massaging his sore wrist, he looked at Rayne with a terrified gaze.

"Now will you tell me?" Rayne asked curtly.

The man nodded.

"Hold on a minute…" he said with one finger raised and he went over to a phone that was by the liquor display. After taking the receiver into his hand, the bar tender then dialed a number and Rayne could hear muffled ringing coming from upstairs. It soon stopped and the barman began talking to the occupant upstairs.

"Hey Edie its me." The man said into the phone. "Listen, can you come downstairs and serve the customers for a few minutes please? I have someone here that wants to talk business with me."

The bar tender's face suddenly cringed and Rayne, with her sharp hearing, could detect the sounds of unhappy female voice.

"Look, Edith, I'm sorry I interrupted your reading but Agatha Christie can wait all right! The book aint gonna grow legs and walk when your down here! Wait, who is the person I'm meeting with?"

The man quickly looked at Rayne and then back into space as he tried to come up with an explanation on the phone.

"She's a- a- an associate of Maude's—What?! No, Edith! No! She is not a prostitute! Far from it, she's her kid sister and she was thinking of opening a bar in San Laura and she wants advice on how to run one."

Rayne made a face when she heard the bartender defend her honor and told his wife that she was the younger sister of a madam who happened to own a disreputable brothel.

"Alright, thank you dear. I'll see you after my meeting is done. It won't take long at all. Probably ten to fifteen minutes at best." There was a pause before the bartender continued. "Well, I need you down here because I don't trust my register being left alone with these drunks and reefer smokers! It will be quick I promise. Okay, thank you dear. Love you, bye."

The bar tender hung up the phone and he gave Rayne a look.

"She's my second wife and is just as nervy as my first one was. Still wouldn't trade her for the world however."

The two waited a few minutes until a door at the far end of the bar opened and a chubby woman with white hair and black glasses came out. The moment she saw Rayne, she gave her a scowl and she sauntered over towards the bar counter just as more sailors and their "girls" came over to wet their whistles. The bartender gestured towards Rayne to follow him towards a door that had the words "Private" painted on in big black block letters. Edith followed the two with her eyes as her husband opened and entered the door with Maude's "sister."

* * *

**The plot is thickening! What will happen next? Who is the head of the mysterious Oriental human trafficking group? Who is behind the sea serpent? Stay tuned for the next chapter! **


	20. Chapter 19: Sweet Nothings

**Sorry for the late update. Writer's block and computer problems have prevented me from updating my story for all this time. Without further adieu, here it is the newest installment of Chronicles of BloodRayne! Enjoy! :)**

**Author's Note:** **Profanity and lewd language ahead. **

* * *

_**The Tipsy Damsel Bar**_

_**San Laura, California**_

The office inside was a cramped little space that was wonderfully free of smoke and bawdy words. Photos of the bartender holding lines with hooked tuna, halibut and even a small mako shark with his friends and family decorated the walls. There was a worn mahogany desk and the bar tender sat down and he gestured towards Rayne to sit at a small, age darkened red mobile chair. She sat down and once again asked her question.

"Now, do you recall any of these sailors coming into your bar before they vanished? And what is this "hot trouble" that I will be getting myself into if I probe any further?"

She handed the old man the newspaper articles regarding the missing sailors and he waved the papers away.

"Don't need to see those. I have seen them. There were all here in my bar during the nights they went missing… And I know who they went with."

"Who?" Rayne asked.

"Prostitutes, three of them. Their names are Ivy, Merla and Harriet. Ivy is the leader of the three. You see, she is Earnest Callahan's daughter. He's the-"

"The lighthouse keeper. I know who he is." Rayne said.

"Very good," the bartender said with an impressed tone. "You see, about a year ago Ivy came here and told me about this lucrative business her old man got involved in with some Oriental fellas. She told me that there was a very wealthy Chinese person somewhere, can't remember the name and even if I did, I couldn't pronounce it, who was paying the whole family; Earnest, Ivy and her brother George, to kidnap men and ship them off to China. You see, Earnest was being paid with opium and he had Ivy give some of the surplus to Maude and I for distribution here in San Laura and the rest of Southern California in exchange for our silence. Opium is not as popular as it used to be so the Oriental "buyers" give Earnest the opium poppy pods. They can be processed into heroin which is now the current drug of choice for losers…"

Edith shouting at some patrons to behave could be heard through the door. After the shouting stopped, the bar tender continued with Rayne's attention rapt on him.

"Since Ivy and her two friends get the most clients, Maude has them seduce the sailors and then bring them to the bordello. From what Ivy has told me, she puts some kind of sedative into the men's drinks when they're not looking or she chloroforms them when they are alone in her room. She gets then gets Felipe to roll the men up in a carpet or blanket and then puts them in George's truck and he takes the "cargo" on his boat at the docks towards his father's lighthouse. There are these Chinese people, and Ivy said that one of them is a woman, who later come to pick-up their "goods", pay Earnest and then sail off back to China…"

Rayne couldn't believe what she just heard. It was an extremely twisted tale involving kidnapping and drug trafficking. She didn't think she would run into something like this during an investigation into sea serpent sightings. Speaking of which…

"Besides… this… Have you or Earnest had a hand with the sightings of that sea serpent too?"

The bartender shrugged his shoulders and he looked flustered.

"I have no idea lady, I have no goddamned idea. Ivy never mentioned anything about that thing and as far as I'm concerned, I'm going to keep it that way. I'm already too deep in this mess to begin with anyway and I don't want to muddle it up further."

"Yeah, like you aren't muddled enough already." Rayne mumbled to herself. A question then came into her mind.

"Why didn't you report this to the police? Why did you join the kidnapping if you don't like it so much?"

The bartender shook his head.

"I needed the money from selling heroin. Other than that, I don't know why I did it."

"Why were these men getting trafficked anyway? Does the Chinese navy need sailors or something?"*****

The bartender shook his head.

"I do remember asking Ivy but she said that the Chinese fellows never spoke to her father. They just offered their opium payment and took the men and then took off. So I have no idea why they are being kidnapped…"

Rayne looked on with hidden disgust towards the man. This hoary, aged man who knew something wrong was going on but did nothing out of greed and fear. The sailors may or may not have been angels but it was still horrible that they were being kidnapped and used for some as of yet unknown nefarious purpose. Hiding her seething anger, Rayne had one more question to ask.

"Have Ivy and her friends come in yet or have they left with their prey already?"

The man's face wrinkled up and he made a face as he tried to remember.

"No, not yet. They only pick up men for trafficking once a month and tonight's the night for that."

Just then uproarious laughter emanated through the door and the man's eyes widened with recognition.

"That laughter… that's Ivy's!"

Getting up suddenly, Rayne marched towards the door and she opened it gently. Music, cigarette smoke and laughter seeped into the office when she spied the source of the laughter. Sitting at the bar, holding her dribbling lips with trembling fingers as she stifled a laugh while holding a martini glass in the other was Ivy. She had short, sandy brown curls and was wearing a light pink hat and V-neck dress and her lips were painted with ruby red lipstick. Ivy seemed to be having a good time with her latest beau, and potential victim.

He was a tall man wearing a sailor's outfit, had dark brown hair along with a chiseled chin and his eyes were almond shaped. The man also had a big smile on his face with dimples under his joy fattened and sanguine cheeks. Quiet as a mouse, Rayne walked out of the bar tender's office and she slowly made her way past the bar. The sailor had a bottle of beer and it made Rayne wander if Ivy had managed to put anything into it yet. Using _Aura Sense _Rayne was able to find the other two trafficking conspirators in the bar as well.

Merla and Harriet were happily plying their trade with two other sailors far behind their ringleader Ivy. Not wanting to arouse suspicion by staying in the bar longer, Rayne walked out of the Tipsy Damsel to wait for the women and their clients outside. The cool night air that blanketed Peach Street made Rayne wrap her arms around herself. The raucous crowd outside of the dive had died down a little either from the cool sea air sobering up the drunken, forcing them to go home to sleep it off, or they had retreated to the rooms in Sweet Temptations for an entirely different way of "getting warm." The ones that remained were just idling about around the Tipsy Damsel Bar though Rayne could hear a faint cacophony of voices resonating throughout Peach Street.

Mostly it was intoxicated ramblings of intoxicated men, of those under the influence of reefer, with some even softly laughing to themselves, and there was even soft moaning coming from the very depths of the alleyways themselves. Rayne had the feeling that a man was getting "serviced" by a prostitute and she hoped that she wouldn't be seeing the "action" around the corner of the brothel. Thankfully nothing was there and Rayne continued on her way until she came to the back of Sweet Temptations. Leaning up against the rough brick wall, she began to wait. Every now and then, Rayne would use her _Aura Sense _to see if Ivy and her friends coming back with their latest customers, but so far the blue lights did not budge from where they were.

After what felt like an eternity, Rayne turned on _Aura Sense _for the sixth time and she was surprised. The trio of blue lights was getting brighter and larger as they moved from the dive to the brothel. Laughter and giggling could be heard even from the back of Sweet Temptations and Rayne's sharp hearing was able to pick up some of the things that were being said by the prostitutes.

"Had a little too much to drink?"

"Look how red he is! I'll make him feel better when we get to my room…"

"I didn't drink that much…"

The sound of a truck pulling up at the adjacent street caught Rayne's attention. Because of the area's sordid reputation, Rayne had discovered that there wasn't anyone driving through the east side of San Laura. She concluded that the truck most likely belonged to Ivy's brother George, one of the co-conspirators of the apparent Shanghaiing ring. Apparently, he was waiting to pick-up the latest "Navy issued merchandise" his sister and her cohorts had found. Turning her attention back towards the bordello, Rayne's _Aura Sense _so that Ivy's retinue were now inside and were making their way upstairs to their rooms to enact their carnal business.

Grabbing the doorknob of the back door, Rayne discovered that it was unlocked and she made her way over the concrete threshold. A dusty, narrow hallway greeted Rayne as she entered. The dark wood contrasted with the light of an antique gas lamp that was mounted on the white plaster wall. Several doors were located in the hall, most likely leading to an office for the brothel owner and some private living rooms for her and her boyfriend as well. A din of voices could be heard coming from the front of the brothel.

Using _Aura Sense_, Rayne saw that the blue lights were now making their way up to the second floor. Walking towards the door at the end of the hallway that had a small lobby with a large gilt mirror hanging above a simple one legged, mahogany table with a potted plant and on the opposite end was a dark pink couch with an elegantly carved dark wood frame, that included a painting of a nude reclining woman with her back facing the painter wearing a turban over her dark hair, an earring in one ear, bracelets on her right wrist, its hand holding fan and there was what appeared to be a blue satin curtain in front of her. Her doe eyes seemed to be drawing in both the painter and the viewer to her being like a magnet so that they could take in her beauty.****** Rayne thought it was both a lovely and typical painting to be found in a brothel.

"Nice." Rayne said and she quietly opened the door. The raucous crowd in the main room of the brothel greeted Rayne when she partially opened the door. People were talking loudly and laughter emanated from a room that resembled a parlor next to the lobby. Big band music was being played on a station from a huge radio that was sequestered the corner of the parlor by the dividing wall that separated it from the lobby.

Several couples were ascending the stairs to Rayne's left and she knew that she couldn't just walk upstairs. Before she could be seen, Rayne quickly shut the door. Thanks to the din outside, the sound of its closing went unnoticed by the inebriated and lecherous crowd. Wandering what to do next, Rayne activated her _Aura Sense_. With it, she saw three pulsing blue lights up above her.

They were situated at the back of the brothel's second floor and they were moving towards different rooms in the same hallway. An idea came into Rayne's mind. Even though it was a very cool night, she was sure that Ivy and her cohorts would have their windows open in order to counteract the heat they would be feeling when they were "getting it on with their johns."

"This should be very interesting…" Rayne said to herself. Making her way back outside, Rayne discarded her trench coat and hat, seeing that they would now be cumbersome to her upcoming physical activity. Peeking around the corner of the wall, Rayne saw a row of varying sizes of rectangular shapes of light on the ground in the alleyway and a closer look revealed that the windows were all obviously covered by a pull down curtain. Using _Aura Sense _to reestablish what was going on the second floor, Rayne observed what her lit up targets were doing.

Two of the lights were now fixed at one spot in two of the rooms. Rayne didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know what was going on up there. However, the other light seemed to be moving about in the other room. Deciding to see what was going on, Rayne stealthily walked through the alleyway until she was under the window with the mobile light. All she had to do was bend her knees and Rayne was able to grab the second floor windowsill with both hands.

Fixing her bladed stilettos into the brick and mortar of the wall, Rayne was able to stick to look through the window. Due to the curtain blocking the view of the interior, Rayne could only see a woman's feet as she appeared to be hovering over a man that was lying still on the floor. From Rayne could see, the man was wearing a sailor's uniform and the woman was trying to organize his body for some reason. She was most likely preparing her john to be concealed and taken to Perry's Island to be kidnapped. The woman then did her best to push the sailor's body underneath her bed and due to his size, it was quite the task but she managed it.

After pushing him under, the woman let out an exhausted sigh and she turned towards her door. Seeing an opportunity to sneak in, Rayne used one hand to open the carefully open the window. However, the old windowpane refused to budge and Rayne had to add some extra elbow grease in order to get it open. It worked, but the dull droning noise of the opening caught the woman's attention. It occurred just as she was about to walk out of the door and she quickly turned around to see what it was.

Seeing how her curtain was billowing inwards due to the breeze, the woman closed the door behind her and she steadily made her way towards it. Rayne cursed herself for causing the noise but she also found that this had also created an opportunity for her. As the woman got closer, Rayne swung her legs out behind her and she managed to do a backflip that allowed her to go through the window, which was now wide enough for her to get into. Her entrance was as smooth and graceful as a breeze, and Rayne landed at the now more than startled woman's feet.

She let out a gasp of pure fright upon seeing the sudden entrance of the red headed trespasser. "What, what!?" was all the woman could say through her hand covered mouth as she quickly backed away. Rayne got up to see who the woman was. It was Ivy Callahan, the daughter of the light keeper and the procurer of victims for the Oriental kidnapping ring. Ivy made a break for the door but Rayne brought out her harpoon and she shot it towards the fleeing woman. Just as Ivy's hand touched the doorknob, the harpoon's blade sank into the right side of her back and Rayne pulled her over to her.

Rayne then grabbed the young woman by her hair, and covering her mouth, and she all but slammed the prostitute onto her bed. To subdue Ivy, Rayne hooked both her arms underneath Ivy's and she held her there with a powerful grip. The prostitute shook beneath her sudden captor and Rayne could feel her hands burning from Ivy's tears of terror and her cheeks ballooning and deflating with each deep breath she took through the dhampir's fingers. Rayne pursed her lips as she began to tolerate the worst of the pain that was spreading through her knuckles and hand. She firmly squeezed Ivy's cheeks to try and get her to focus.

"Don't worry Ivy, I'm not here to kill you…" Rayne said and the young lady stopped shaking and she looked upwards with red, teary eyes. "I just need you to answer some questions for me."

Rayne felt the young woman nodding her head and she let Ivy go. After sitting down and recollecting her composure, Ivy began to speak.

"Wh-who are you? What do you need to know?" she stammered.

"The first question is not important," Rayne replied. "I just want to know why you and your family are kidnapping sailors and selling them to some Chinese people. Also, what the hell is your father doing with a sea monster to begin with anyway?"

Ivy looked down on her folded hands that were resting on her lap as she tried think of how to tell her unexpected intruder, now interrogator, what she wanted to know.

"Well…" Ivy nervously began, "my father is a gambler and he spends our family assets by betting at the gambling dens in this area of town. We have been having trouble trying to pay our taxes and keeping the lighthouse repaired but my family doesn't have the money to fix this."

Ivy bit her lip as she continued on, a sign that she was uncomfortable about the next bit of information that she was going to share with Rayne.

"One of the owners of the gambling dens, some Chinese lady I think, told my dad that she knew somebody from a place called Macao who could help us earn more money."

"And that was through kidnapping sailors correct?" Rayne asked. Ivy nodded softly. "But why?" Rayne continued and Ivy shook her head.

"I don't know why… I was just told that my job was to lure these sailors here and to knock them out so that my brother George can ship them to the lighthouse for the kidnappers from China. I needed help in getting more, so I brought my friends Merla and Harriet into the mix as well…"

"But why Ivy?" Rayne asked, "Why be involved in this at all?"

Ivy shook her head. "I'm not sure… My family needs the money and my brother and I have been saving some cash in a secret place so that we can leave San Laura together and go somewhere else to get away from our father and this kidnapping ring…"

Rayne wanted to ask Ivy why she thought she could simply put what she and her family had done behind her when she remembered the sea monster.

"Did this Chinese woman by chance give your dad some ability to conjure up a sea monster by chance?" Rayne asked. Ivy looked up at Rayne with wide eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights. Ivy scrunched her lips and she clasped her fingers tightly together until her knuckles turned white.

"No, but one of the Chinese people that my father interacts with during the "trade" gave him this jewel. My dad showed it to me during the rare days when I am at the lighthouse. It's a real sapphire, the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. It also had a Chinese character carved in the center of it as well…"

Three hard wraps on the door snapped the two out of their conversation. A Spanish accented voice followed suit.

"Hey, Ivy. Are you done yet? I need to collect your sheets for cleaning tomorrow."

Ivy's eyes became wider than usual and her skin began to shake with fear.

"Yes- Yes I am!" she called out to the man, standing straight up from the bed. "Just give me a minute sir…"

"Well hurry it up then." The Latin American voice responded back rudely and Ivy began to wring her hands.

"You need to leave!" She suddenly said in a forced whisper. "I have told you everything you need to know, so please just get the hell out of here!"

Rayne fixed the young lady with an angry, emerald gaze that caused the timid Ivy to back away from shock. "Last I checked, you're not in the position to tell me what to do. Second of all, you are going to help me again."

"Help you? Help you with what?!" Ivy said in a hushed tone. Another barrage of knocking startled Ivy and Felipe's voice echoed through the door.

"What the hell are you doing in there Ivy? Is your client stuck inside of you or something?"

"No," Ivy responded back, "he's just drunk and I am trying to move him off the bed."

This answer seemed to satisfy Felipe and Rayne could hear an impatient grunt coming from behind the door.

"I guess this "sheet collecting" is actually code for "kidnapping victims are ready to be transported." Rayne said flatly and Ivy nodded. A light bulb turned on in Rayne's head as she felt the softness of the fabric of the ugly giant rug beneath her feet.

"Ivy?" Rayne whispered and the young woman leaned her head in closer so she could hear what her captor had to say. "I have an idea."

A few minutes later, the door opened and Felipe, a middle-aged Mexican man wearing an immaculate wife-beater, beige pants held up by a black belt and black shoes came in. He saw Ivy standing by the head of her bed, which was now stripped of its linens, which were now neatly folded around the sailor that was laying on the bed. Felipe took one look at the pile and he raised an eyebrow.

"Oy, you weren't kidding there chica. He is a big man." He said as he walked in. A cocky smile framed his dark skinned face. "But it aint nothin I can't handle."

The man, although only five feet and eight inches tall, was able to lift the easily five foot eleven man over his shoulder. Felipe, before fleeing across the border to escape a loan shark he had failed to pay back in Mexico City, was once a butcher and he was able to hoist sides of raw beef that were half or nearly as heavy as some of the poor perverts that were lured in by Ivy and her clique. The man did have some heft to him and as Felipe turned to leave, Ivy spoke up.

"After you drop off the "sheets" at my brother's truck sir…," Ivy said nervously, "can you please come up and take this rug out too to George as well?"

"Why?" Felipe asked sharply.

"Because this rug is nice and I think it would look great in the living room of my family's lighthouse ."

Felipe shrugged.

"Alright." He said and he stomped off with the sheets. Minutes later, Felipe came back and he took the carpet and put into the back of the waiting truck that Rayne had heard earlier. The hard landing on the metal bed of the truck tempted Rayne to shout out a curse but she managed to suppress it. Besides being carelessly thrown, being wrapped up in a dusty old carpet wasn't too fun either. At least she had her arms firmly planted on her sides so that Malebranche couldn't cut her in anyway.

As the truck made its way through the streets of San Laura, Rayne began to feel hot but she knew she could manage it. Rayne had gotten the idea of being wrapped up in carpet from a history lesson she had taken with Mathias a few years ago. He was teaching his half-siblings about ancient history and were on the topic of Ancient Egypt. During the section about the twilight of the great Ancient Egyptian civilization during the Ptolemaic era, a story from that time that Mathias had read to them peaked Rayne's interest. It was the story on how Queen Cleopatra VII had first met her lover Julius Gaius Caesar by being snuck into his tent by servant whilst rolled up in an elegant carpet and rolling herself out so they could get acquainted more properly.

But this wasn't some great general that Rayne was going to meet. The lighthouse keeper didn't sound like too much of a threat, except for his frightening aquatic "pet," but who knew what the Chinese individuals were capable of. No matter what, Rayne had to keep her guard up. Eventually, the truck came to a stop and through the small opening at the top of the roll, Rayne thought she could smell the salty sea air. She knew that she had finally reached the docks.

The sound of the truck door opening and closing emerged from outside, as well as footsteps walking on a wooden surface. One by one, the sheets were being removed from the truck bed and being placed into the boat. Soon, Rayne and her carpet were picked up and placed into the boat as well. The sound of the boat motor turning on filled the air and soon it began its, hopefully, short trip to Perry's Island. Rayne couldn't stand being in such a claustrophobically tight space for much longer.

After what felt like an eternity, Rayne felt the boat slow down and then come to a complete stop. She heard more movement and soon another set of feet joined George's. Rayne could hear two men grunting as they lifted the sailors and their sheets up.

"Urk!" came a grunt from one of the men, "Jesus, why can't Ivy find men that are at least a foot shorter and are a hundred pounds lighter? Lifting and carrying these behemoths all the way to the other side of the island is wreaking havoc on my back…"

The voice sounded old and rough, belonging to a man in his middle years. It was most likely Earnest Callahan, the much loathed father of Ivy and George and mean spirited widower that Agent Blue Fang had told Rayne about.

"I don't know dad…" the voice of a young man followed suit, "Either the Navy life makes these boys big or they were born big. Regardless, we have to get them to the other side. Aren't those people coming in about thirty minutes?"

"Yes they are." Earnest's voice became nasty upon his son's remark. "So quit talking and help me move these bastards. There are three of them, including that ugly as hell carpet there!"

For the next half-hour, Rayne listened to the men as they shuffled off the boat with their heavy human cargo. The sound of old wooden planks groaning from weight of the men carrying the sailors echoed into the rolled up rug. After the last sailor was picked up, Rayne strained her ears to listen to the growing distance of the footsteps. After the sounds had disappeared entirely and that Rayne was sure that the men were gone, she made her escape from her cramped confines. Despite the very little room she had, Rayne was able to roll on her right side and then roll onto her left.

This action allowed her to unfurl the rug and to get up and stretch her legs. As her joints and blood flow began to relax from the lack of movement, looked to see where she was. A few miles away, Rayne could see the sparkling lights of the San Laura waterfront cityscape and the starry sky above it. Turning around, she saw Perry's Island. The tall white and black tower of the lighthouse cast its moving light all across the bay to help sailors get back to the safety of land.

The boat Rayne was on was a beat up piece of junk that was speckled with rust, dents and sharp cracks. The dilapidated thing was moored off to a dock. It was long and it extended to a white sand beach. Huge cliffs obscured the view above where the lighthouse living quarters were and Rayne could see a small cavern a few feet away from the stairwell leading up to the structure. The main feature of the island that caught Rayne's attention was the cavern that was to the left of the stairwell leading up to the lighthouse and cottage.

Rayne could see the trails of footprints in the sand left by George and Earnest as they made their trips to and from the boat with the sailors. Without needing to activate _Aura Sense_, Rayne took off down the dock and towards the cavern. The sound of the ocean waves echoed down into the cave, and Rayne slowed her pace so that she wouldn't alert the men further down inside. The farther she got down, Rayne's ears picked up more noises. She could hear the surf, but its volume appeared to be magnified for some reason.

Getting closer, Rayne soon came upon a massive natural grotto. There was a larger opening facing the open sea and a wall of steel bars meant to keep out sea lions, seals and sharks, closed it off and a gigantic pool of salt water surged in the center of the grotto. Stalactites hanging from the ceiling, their sizes ranging from tiny to colossal, gave the space an extra eerie flavor to it. The chamber was lit up by several kerosene lamps that dotted the rock floor and in front of the section of the steel bar barrier that was planted on solid ground had a large spot light. A young man wearing simple white and black clothes, George, was standing by the spotlight with his hands up to his face.

It appeared that he was looking for something across the Pacific with a pair of binoculars. His father was standing by the three still unconscious sailors, who were laid out at his feet as he leaned back against the rock wall. Seeing that they were distracted, Rayne began to stealthy walk into the chamber. She quietly walked down the natural stone ramp as George and his father still held their gazes towards the ocean. Curious, Rayne turned on her _Aura Sense _to see if a boat was close by and she saw a large blue light that was getting closer and closer by the second.

"I see them dad!" George called out to his father.

"Turn on the light then. Let them know that we are here." Earnest grunted out. The old man's head turned to face the tunnel and Rayne quickly rolled over towards a large boulder. Thankfully she wasn't seen. However, her feet had the misfortune of landing into a puddle caused from the drippings of the stalactites.

"What the hell was that?!" George asked his father in a panicked voice.

"I don't know! Are you sure that you weren't followed when you set sail?" Earnest asked back to his son.

"Yeah I made sure! There wasn't anyone else at the docks except for myself."

"Well maybe you should've looked harder! Someone could have been following you, you idiot!"

The sound of a gun being cocked echoed sharply throughout the grotto.

"Oh great…" Rayne said to herself. Father and son continued to argue.

"Don't blame this on me dad!" George hissed, "You brought us all into this! This is your show!"

"Oh shut up and just watch that damn boat. I'll go see who our uninvited guest is and I will "take care them…"

Rayne could hear Earnest walking towards the boulder she was behind. Using _Aura Sense_, she saw his blue orb getting closer and closer, Rayne thought quickly. As Earnest carefully approached the boulder, he took a deep breath, outstretched his hand, which held a fully loaded six-shooter, and he quickly rounded the rock only to find that no one was there. As Earnest surveyed the scene with disbelief, his son anxiously looked away from the spotlight to see what was going on. What he saw was his father's target perched on top of the boulder.

"Dad watch out above you!" George shouted.

Earnest looked up, only for Rayne to jump behind him. He quickly spun around with his six-shooter but Rayne quickly grabbed his wrist with her left hand, yanked Earnest's arm up and she squeezed it. The pressure she applied was so strong that Earnest let out a yelp of pain and his gun fell out of his hands. Not wanting to injure the man any further, Rayne pushed him away and she quickly picked up his gun and pointed it at George. The young man froze where he stood and he held his hands up.

"Please don't shoot me!" George pleaded, his eyes filled with absolute fear for his life. Rayne analyzed the man with her eyes. George looked to be in his early twenties, was of average height with brown hair that was dark enough to be mistaken for black and light brown eyes. He didn't resemble in any way, a threat, but Rayne wasn't going to take the gun's aim off of him.

"You bitch…" Rayne overheard from Earnest as he began to stand up again. After he was back on his feet, he tried to go after her but Rayne flexed out the blade on her left arm and leveled the tip at the vulgar man's throat.

"Don't try me old man. Just don't..."

"He doesn't have to." A mysterious female voice echoed in the grotto. A command in a different language rang out and as Rayne turned to see who had been talking, a yellow form suddenly filled her vision and in one rapid moment, Rayne could see a fist being swung at her from the corner of her eye.

* * *

**Rayne certainly has her hands full doesn't she? I promise that the next chapter will be even more interesting! Thank you for reading and _please review! :)_  
**


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